Rugby-New Zealand need answer to South Africa's power game, says Barrett

New Zealand are going to have to stop ​South Africa’s power game if they are to win ​the third test against their hosts on ‌the ​weekend and go 2-1 up in the four-test series, experienced All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett said on Monday.

New Zealand were surprise 33-16 victors in the first test in Johannesburg as ‌they embarked on a full-scale tour of South Africa for the first time in 30 years, but the Springboks levelled matters with a 33-26 success in Cape Town at the weekend. “The blueprint that got them, I guess, a victory at the weekend was ‌their power game,” Barrett told a press conference.

“And they went to the air a lot,” he added of the Springboks’ ‌kicking game. “So we're going to have to tidy up a lot of stuff around the air, winning the scraps on the ground and trying to minimise their entries into our half so they can't get their power game on.”

Saturday’s third test at Soccer City in Johannesburg, which was the venue for ⁠the 2010 ​World Cup final, will be ⁠watched by some 85,000 spectators and is effectively a final for both sides, with the fourth and final test to be played in Baltimore in ⁠the United States. “It certainly feels like a knockout stage in the World Cup at the moment,” the 29-year-old said.

“And it's a game of chess, ​really. Yeah, like we beat the Boks week one and they changed a few things, and we tried to ⁠change a few things. We lost the second one so now it's about trying to implement the best plan possible to try and get a result ⁠on ​Saturday, and they'll be doing the same.” A chance to make sure they at least tie the series, and win two of three tests on South African soil, is a massive motivator, Barrett added.

“It'd be a great way to try and ⁠honour the teams that have had success here in the past," he said. “It was something we spoke about before we left ⁠for South Africa and what ⁠an opportunity, so we're going to try and use that to motivate us and galvanise us and excite us and get us to a stage where we're nice and fearless, and then ‌try and enjoy ‌the moment on Saturday and control as much as we can,” ​he said.

(Editing by Ed Osmond)