'We’ve got a job to do': Park the drama says All Blacks Legend
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick has urged the All Blacks to stay focused on the task at hand and not get sucked into the gamesmanship surrounding the Greatest Rivalry series ahead of the third Test at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Fitzpatrick, who believes the meeting in Soweto will be evenly matched, said he expects both sides to show improvements before heading to Baltimore for the series decider.
The series has been punctuated by verbal exchanges between Dave Rennie and Rassie Erasmus in recent weeks.
The latest instalment saw Rennie lash out in the media, accusing the Springboks of scrumming illegally after the second Test defeat in Cape Town.
The Boks hit back immediately, with Erasmus clearly livid at Rennie’s comments, before scrum guru Daan Human dismissed claims of ‘cheating’ in front of the media this week.
While such exchanges might be part and parcel of the game, Fitzpatrick believes the outside noise is not something the All Blacks should be focusing on.
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“The mind games didn’t worry me [during my playing days],” he said at the Captain’s Mindset evening hosted by Discovery.
“I quite enjoyed it and embraced the hostility.
“I just don’t think that’s part of what the All Blacks are about. We’ve got a job to do.”
The former hooker, who led the All Blacks to that historic 1996 series win in South Africa, was also quizzed about the ongoing scrum debate.
He said he had been in the “bushes” after the second Test and hadn’t had a chance to catch up on the news but added that communication channels between referees and coaches needed to improve to lessen tensions.
“I can’t comment on that [the scrums]”, he added.
“I don’t know, honestly, I don’t know. I was just talking to John Smit about it.
“I don’t know, I haven’t watched the scrums that closely, so I don’t know. I’ll leave it up to the experts.
“Everyone has been pretty open in terms of what’s required, what you can do, what you can’t do. The lines of communication can be good if we can get that better.”
*Also read: The key ‘player’ in the Soweto showdown
While he was coy about giving his opinion on the scrum debate, Fitzpatrick was quick to provide his assessment of the All Blacks side and how they have performed under Dave Rennie.
“I like the style of rugby they’re playing and creating opportunities. Playing to their strengths has been really good and giving people that have stood out at Super Rugby an opportunity.
“I like what I’m seeing around the team. What you’ve got to remember about this team is that six months ago, it changed the whole coaching setup, barring a couple.
“I’m looking at this, we are doing unbelievably well when you look in 10 months, we’re going to be at the World Cup. We’re playing the best team in the world, double-world champions in their backyard; what better preparation would we want.”
The 63-year-old believes Saturday’s clash will come down to which team does the basics well and cuts out errors.
“These teams are very well matched, I think.
“It’s just about who creates the opportunity, who makes the mistake. We saw that last week, that first half, we made a few mistakes and they capitalised.
“They both improved last week in certain areas. It’s just about minimising mistakes, yellow cards, and everyone doing their jobs.
“This is going to be one great Test. As a fan, that’s all I want, and for you guys in the media, you’ve got a great series to talk about.”
