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Why Peter Lakai could be the All Blacks' ace up the sleeve for the third Test
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Blindside flanker is one position Dave Rennie and the selectors have continually tinkered with while being steadfast on Savea at No.8 and Luke Jacobson at openside.
Peter Lakai had the first crack against France, before Wallace Sititi against Italy, and Tupou Vaa’i against Ireland. Simon Parker came into the starting line-up for his first game of the year in the second Test as Tupou Vaa’i moved back to lock.
Vaa’i had less impact than in the first Test, crucially coughing up a kick restart that led to a cheap three points for the Springboks. The lineout calls were also off, with the All Blacks attempting to throw to the middle and back too much, which were disrupted by Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit. If the Boks didn’t pinch it, they often knocked it down, creating loose ball.
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Why the All Blacks didn’t go to the front earlier is a big question mark. Front ball is better than no ball, and as Ardie Savea showed on his break to create the McKenzie try, South Africa are weak at the seam at the lineout tail. Ball at the front is not bad when you can attack the seam.
But Parker’s performance in Cape Town was superb despite going under the radar. The 26-year-old was the main operator for the All Blacks in completely shutting down No.8 Jasper Wiese.
The Bok number No.8, recently hyped up as the “world’s best”, had 11 carries for 21 metres, and one turnover lost. Parker got him mulitple times behind the gain line and on one ocassion bullied him back inside the 22 on an exit carry.
The No.6 also had a clean break right up the middle right on half-time that the All Blacks didn’t capitalise on. Overall the maul defence was good, and the scrum held up much better than in Johannesburg.
Parker is about 10kg heavier than Lakai, and 5kg heavier than Wallace Sititi and Ethan Blackadder. That extra weight can help against the Boks big boys at set-piece time, and Parker pushing two metres is a nice complement to the lineout rotation.
However, there is a strong case for going back to Peter Lakai at No.6 specifically for this third Test, and that is due to his ball-carrying ability and breakdown work.
On one of Lakai’s first touches in the second Test, he powered through Lood de Jager and Malcolm Marx, sending both to the turf before being brought down by Wilco Louw. Those missed tackles came from South Africa’s bench players as well; they weren’t just tired starters. His next carry was another gain-line win, the phase before Savea’s try.
Lakai has more athleticism than Parker, and that will give the All Blacks more drive to go through the middle a little more to generate gain line.
At Cape Town Stadium, they had to resort to pick-and-goes by Savea to get traction after swinging wide to wide a lot. Another ball carrier like Lakai to complement Savea provides more power in contact.
The All Blacks made 239 passes in the second Test, but more power up the middle could bring that number down and force the defence to stay honest instead of rushing up on the outside too much.
As an accomplished openside flanker for the Hurricanes, Lakai is also a great poacher. He’s strong over the ball and gets into good positions during the contest.
In his 29-minute cameo in Cape Town, he had three breakdown contests that resulted in one loose ball opportunity, a Springboks’ knock-on and turnover, and a slow ball recycle.
That’s saying something as South Africa didn’t want the ball at all in the second half, instead sending up kicks frequently. Having Lakai on when they do want to attack in the first half can kill off those power sets before they get points.
Nika Amashukeli, who will take the reins for the third Test, has described himself as the “third man at the breakdown”. He likes positioning right over the ruck to officiate the breakdown.
His style is to reward dominant defensive work, meaning legal ruck contests will be rewarded quickly. If the jackaler survives the cleanout, Amashukeli blows quickly and does not let it drag on. This suits Lakai perfectly, who is very strong over the ball.
Amashukeli likes a clean contest and won’t tolerate tacklers not rolling away. This will play against the Springboks, who were lying all over the floor whenever they could in Cape Town.
The jackal wasn’t rewarded much in the first and second Test, but now it could play a decisive part, which means Lakai is the best option at No.6 in the All Blacks line-up.
This would be basically three opensides across the back row, with Savea and Jacobson. We know Savea has produced massive breakdown penalties, while Jacobson did get one against Ireland at Eden Park. Ethan Blackadder is another versatile loosie who could be the pick in the reserves to cover where needed. He’s capable across all three roles.
With Lakai mainly featuring against the club teams, he’s relatively fresh and could be the tactical adjustment the All Blacks need to swing the result their way at FNB Stadium.
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