Scott Barrett on what he saw at set piece time against the Springboks

Scott Barrett is set for his All Blacks return against the Wallabies and is excited to get back into Test rugby after watching the series against South Africa from afar.

After surgery delayed his return timetable, the former captain missed the chance to face off against the number one ranked Springboks on home soil.

The All Blacks were under pressure constantly at scrum time and the set piece talk became a focal point after Dave Rennie accused the South African front rowers of ‘walking around’.

Barrett said he felt like a ‘fan’ watching the games and rode the emotions of the series, while taking note of the set piece.

“I watched those Tests as a fan, like the rest of everyone back here, you sort of ride the emotions of results,” Barrett told media Monday. 

“I think the set piece is probably an area where they [South Africa] work themselves back into the game.

“Critical moments, they you know were able to get up the field through scrum penalties on their ball, and you know their DNA. They lent on it and fed into other areas of their game, which is you know their maul, and and that’s been a strength for them for a long time.

“So probably those couple of areas as a tight forward, you sort of feel for the boys over there that were put under pressure and you know come away off the back of a series loss. So probably those two [areas] are keen interests of mine.”

On whether he watched with an eye towards fixing the issues the All Blacks had, Barrett said that he had to check himself from criticising too much as on the ground is a very different experience.

He said that the conditions in South Africa are “like no other” so being a couch critic is unhelpful.

“I‘m naturally a little bit of a skeptic, so yeah, I think it’s easy to criticize when you’re on the couch at home,” he said.

“You’re not there with the boys in those pressure moments, and the conditions there are probably like no other.

“I check myself to say ‘you’re not there’. Don’t fall into that trap, it’s a slippery slope when you start complaining about referee calls and all that stuff.

“I was just sitting back here watching it as a fan more than anything, supportive of the team and my brothers who are playing over there.”

After watching the Wallabies beat the Springboks in Perth, Barrett knows not to take the Wallabies lightly after they performed much better at set piece time.

Barrett conceded the set piece was not an “overnight fix” ahead of the Bledisloe series.

“You know they beat South Africa, so we’re fully on alert for what’s coming this week, and you know as a team, we’ve already addressed a few things on where we need to get better, as you allude to around the scrum.

“It’s not until you sort of see it on the grass and you make those shifts and turn them into habits.

“So, like anything, it’s not an overnight fix, and we’ll have to work pretty hard this week and going forward.”