1
'Is that supposed to be funny?': Brodie Retallick snaps at English writer
By Patrick McKendry, NZ Herald
A revelation of sorts plus a sharp fend from All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick as he and his side kick off their week of preparations before a potentially epic Rugby World Cup semifinal clash against England; he has never watched Jonah Lomu’s heroics in this corresponding match in South Africa in 1995.
And he’s not buying into any provocation – accidental or otherwise – off the field, at least. As the big second-rower faced the media in Tokyo this afternoon alongside teammate Sam Cane, an English reporter raised what now feels like the ancient history of a press conference years ago when Retallick was asked to identify an England forward, and, momentarily lost for words, replied with “Michael Laws”, rather than Courtney Lawes.
His answer this time was more to the point; in fact some may say it hit the target.
Continue reading below…
ADVERTISEMENT
“A few years ago you didn’t seem to be aware of any names of the individual players,” the question began. “Is that the case anymore and what do you make of their second rowers in particular?”
Retallick, considering his answer for a couple of seconds, replied: “Is that supposed to be humorous? I made a mistake and called him the wrong name… a New Zealand politician. Yeah, good on ya. We have great respect for all the rugby players out there.
“Yeah, we know who they are and we know what they’re about so obviously we look at every opposition leading into the weekend. But we’re also certainly focused on what we’re going to do to get that right.”
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1186314025199718401
If the 28-year-old’s response typified how Retallick plays; direct and occasionally brutal but generally within the spirit of the game, his answer to whether he watched the only other previous semifinal between the All Blacks and England was a little more unpredictable.
“I’ve never seen the ’95 game but I’ll be doing everything in my power, as the team will, to make sure we come out on top,” said Retallick, who, to be fair to him, was only four years old at the time.
Quizzed about Lomu’s famous four tries and Zinzan Brooke’s dropped goal from 40m at Newlands, Retallick said: “I might have to go back and watch it now.”
Retallick, a 79-test veteran who got through an excellent shift of almost 60 minutes against Ireland after only 30 minutes of rugby in the last few months, will be worth watching too on Saturday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B34U-01gFt-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
There is no doubt about how much he is valued by his teammates – Cane was effusive in his praise – and he will bring a hard but creative edge against what is probably the second-best team at this World Cup behind the All Blacks.
England are a proper threat, and Retallick’s no-nonsense approach reflects that and what is at stake.
“Playing them on the end of year tour last year was a massive test,” he said. “We only managed to come out ahead of them by one point. We know they’re always physical. They’ve got a big forward pack who are very mobile, carry the ball well and have good skillsets.
“Likewise their backs, they have a pretty expansive game. I only saw a little bit of what they did against Australia, but they attack with variation and that’s where we’re going to have to be on our game.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1186220383541837824
“I’ll go the full 80 – that’s sort of out of my control,” he said about his potential to back up on his return from a dislocated shoulder. “I was happy with the work I got through at the weekend. It was definitely a step up from the 30-odd minutes I had previously. I just loved being out there and being part of that victory.”
Cane’s elaboration was on the money, too: “It was good to have him back, eh,” he said.
“It’s incredible really that he goes 60 minutes like that after just 30 minutes against Namibia, to be honest. He dominates the middle of the park – he owns that role and can execute it really well. He sees pictures clearly and can take the ball to the line and put others in space. Without swelling his head, yeah it was good to have him back out there.”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished again with permission.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Proctor Definitely inform again this year had a hell of a season last year and this year is looking even better. Still mixed feelings about Ioane tho.
4 Go to commentsDagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
4 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
4 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
38 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to comments