The ‘venom’ warning Richie McCaw shared before All Blacks-Boks rematch

All signs from the All Blacks camp last week suggest the team was braced for a Springboks counterpunch in Wellington, with iconic former flanker Richie McCaw noting their prep seemed thorough.

After downing the world champions in Auckland, the All Blacks, along with the rest of the rugby world, knew Sky Stadium would host a hungry Springbok team just seven days later. What then played out was a historic defeat, but head coach Scott Robertson said post-match that it wasn’t due to a lack of edge from the team. The week of preparation had instilled nothing but confidence that his side was up to the challenge.

That week included guidance from a special guest in McCaw, the man with the most wins in Test history (131). The former All Blacks captain appeared in the team’s docuseries ‘Behind the Fern’, speaking about the challenge of the second Test against South Africa as the team geared up for the Freedom Cup challenge.

“I think the game last week was what you’d expect between South Africa and the All Blacks, pretty brutal, physically,” he said in the show’s latest episode.

“With the All Blacks coming off a pretty disappointing loss two weeks before against Argentina, there’s a fair bit of motivation. And you could see that in the passion of how they started. It obviously got a bit tight towards the end, but it’s what you expect in those Tests.

“I think, always a tough thing in sport is when you get yourself up for a game, especially from an All Blacks point of view, is making sure you can get to the same point again this week, because that’s what it will require.

“The way the All Blacks were feeling before last week’s game is exactly the way that the Springboks will be feeling this week, having come second.

“So, week to week, it’s different. But you’ve got to make sure you go back to the start and prepare as such, so that you can have the same intensity and put the same venom or desire into what you’re doing. That’s what it’s going to take; the South Africans won’t lie down. It makes it intriguing.”

McCaw captained the All Blacks to victory in 97 of the 110 games in which he wore the captain’s armband, so he was well-placed to impart knowledge on what consistent success demands.

“There were a couple of times we played South Africa two weeks in a row, and they were two different weeks. Whatever the scoreboard said or whatever the feeling was after the game, the following week was different, for a whole lot of reasons.

“And I guess when there’s a result, win or lose, it certainly influences how you start the week. But the thing is, if you’re going to be a good team, you need to be able to back up performances when you’ve had a good one, to be able to do it again, which is the challenge for the team this week.

“But from what I’ve seen, they’ve dialled into that. So, hopefully, they get the performance.”