If veteran All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock is looking for something to do when he finally hangs up his boots, he could do worse than take up professional poker, so close to his chest does he hold his cards.
So when the 33-year-old, who has played 134 Tests since his debut in 2010, tells reporters that the main area of improvement in South Africa for him and his fellow forwards is improving their mauling ahead of two clashes against the world champions, one suspects it is in fact a major concern for the All Blacks.
Which is not surprising considering how meekly they conceded tries from two lineout drives against Ireland in the third Test in Wellington last month, a defeat which condemned the All Blacks to a rare home series loss.
That pair of Irish aces – one in each half – were probably the final straw for forwards coach John Plumtree, who was axed after the Test along with attack coach Brad Mooar, with Crusaders assistant Jason Ryan brought in with a brief to fix things as quickly as possible.
“We do know there are areas we need to get better at,” Whitelock said from the All Blacks’ base near the Kruger National Park. “Obviously conceding a couple of maul tries is an obvious one for myself as a tight forward. That’s a key area I’m focusing on.”
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The All Blacks, who arrived in South Africa on Monday NZT, will face the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday morning NZT under severe pressure after their 2-1 series loss to Ireland. A week later they play the Boks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
With New Zealand Rugby under attack on several fronts, including from former coach Steve Hansen, the All Blacks will attempt to turn things around without lock Brodie Retallick, who suffered a broken cheekbone against Ireland in Wellington which will force the selectors to consider moving Scott Barrett back there after he performed well at blindside flanker during the first Test win in Auckland.
Another defeat would mean the All Blacks have lost five of their last six Tests and ramp up the scrutiny on head coach Ian Foster even further.
Asked whether being away from New Zealand presented the team with a slight reprieve, Whitelock said: “The presser cooker is still on. When I say that, for us as players and as a team, we’re trying to put pressure on ourselves.
“But it is good for us at the moment as a team to be over here together. We’ve got time to work on what we need to work on.”
Ryan, well known to Crusader Whitelock, had settled in well to his new environment, but: “The main thing is that it actually falls on us as players,” Whitelock said. “We have to perform. It doesn’t matter who is coaching us, it comes down to us performing on the field. And we have to perform for 80-plus minutes not just for periods of the game.”
And he revealed his advice to the younger members of the team who may not be as able to cope as well with the pressure of expectation on the individual or collective as the All Blacks have slid to a world ranking of No.4.
“I was lucky when I first came into the team,” Whitelock said. “We were going into a World Cup at home, hadn’t won it for 24 years and there was a lot of external pressure. The best advice I got given from the senior players was don’t read into the media, don’t worry about all those things, just control what you can control.
“That’s the main thing I’ve been trying to tell the boys – control how you’re training, how you’re playing, how you’re preparing."
For midfielder Rieko Ioane, being in South Africa to play the Boks is about as good as it gets. “It’s crazy,” he said of the support for the side. “There were a lot of people at Jo’burg when we landed. It’s just the buzz going around. Personally, it’s one of my favourite places to travel, South Africa. The people are so loving and supportive.”
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