All Blacks head coach has hailed the performance of back-rower Peter Lakai against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday.
Lakai put in a sterling performance as New Zealand romped to a 43-21 victory over Australia, with the back-rower scoring one of the side’s seven tries.
Peter Lakai’s shift
It was yet another impressive showing from the 23-year-old loose forward who shone in the Eden Park win over the Wallabies too, and his performance did not escape Rennie’s gaze.
“I thought he was phenomenal in South Africa as well,” the All Blacks boss told reporters after the match.
“He is just an unbelievable athlete, isn’t he? He runs like a back, and he’s got a great skill set, but he hits hard and he’s got post-tackle presence. So, he’s pretty special and had another big say today.”
Lakai finished the match in the centres with the All Blacks closing out the game with 13 players on the park. This came after Quinn Tupaea was forced from the pitch with a concussion in the opening minute of the match. Samisoni Taukei’aho also sustained a setback, which meant that Codie Taylor had to return with Timoci Tavatavanawai sacrificed, as the team had to be reduced by one player while debutant Chay Fihaki was yellow-carded.
Tupaea’s concussion meant that Rieko Ioane effectively played 80 minutes as he combined with Tavatavanawai, who was a late replacement for Jordie Barrett.
Rennie’s review of the match
Despite all the disruptions, the All Blacks dominated the first half and boasted a 36-7 lead at the break. However, they managed to score just one try in the second 40 minutes.
“We just weren’t as accurate, but we had two or three opportunities, and we turned the ball over, and the Wallabies are lethal from turnover ball and counter,” Rennie remarked in the second half.
“I think it was 14 line breaks each today, so a big chunk of theirs came in second-half.
“It was frustrating, but look, I’m proud of the character and the courage. We trained all week with two midfielders who basically didn’t play today, so Rieko and Big Jim teaming up did a really good job. Obviously, Chay came on, and he ended up getting 40 minutes.
“We ended up having to play Peter Lakai in the midfield for a while and finished the game off with 13. I thought there was a lot of character, and we learnt a lot from controlling those situations.
“Disappointed that we weren’t as clinical and if we’d scored a couple early, we could have really put the foot on the throat.”
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Commenting on the first half, he said: “That was excellent. A lot of stuff that we did well last week, we’re able to put 40 minutes of that together. The quality of the carrier, winning races, and brutality around clean-out, and then a lot of the quality in the decision-making and the pass selection to put people in space.
“When we were able to hold onto the ball, we could play quick, so I thought we were cynical in the first 43. When you get fast ball, it’s harder for them to come hard at you and then we had the opportunity to pick them off and I thought the decision-making was excellent.”