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Young prop read for big challenge

Marc Hinton in Johannesburg

Southland, Highlanders and All Blacks prop Ethan de Groot had his game face on early ahead of his first starting assignment against the mighty Springboks tomorrow.

And, really, who could blame the 24-yearold, five-test loosehead for the second Rugby Championship test against the world champion South Africans at Ellis Park.

All things considered, this is easily the biggest match of his young rugby career, and he was clearly not keen to indulge in too much in the way of small talk at Thursday’s team naming press conference, at which he was one of the special guests.

De Groot, of course, missed selection in coach Ian Foster’s July squad, and was given a clear message on the challenges he had to meet to play his way back in.

But with Karl Tu’inukuafe off to France soon, there was always going to be a spot open for him for the Rugby Championship, and sure enough the recall came in short order. By last Sunday (NZT) in Mbombela there he was coming off the bench, and putting in an impressive second-half turn as the All Blacks were well beaten 26-10 by the Boks.

‘‘Yeah-nah, I’m excited,’’ said the solid Southlander after it was confirmed he would start just his second test in the Ellis Park rematch.

‘‘It’s going to be a hell of a challenge. Probably if you’d told me five weeks ago when I was strapping up down in Oreti Park in Southland that I’d be starting at Ellis Park, I would have told you to get lost. I’m super excited and grateful for the opportunity.’’

He said his July omission was initially hard to take, but then came with somewhat of a kicker.

‘‘I was pretty gutted at the start when I didn’t make the first series, but looking back it was probably a good thing, I did need to put in some work, so it was about going away and doing a bit of training on my own, and looking in from the outside.’’

Then it all got decidedly brief for the taciturn 122kg titan.

Where had he been challenged? ‘‘Just my workrate – getting off the ground.’’

How much did he relish going up against the Boks? ‘‘They’re good at their set piece. I’m excited for the challenge.’’

What did he recall of Boks-All Blacks clashes of the past, and was he a 3am riser for the games here? ‘‘Nah I wasn’t. I just remember the big rivalries, the close games and obviously the Boks being a big pack.’’

What were his highlights away from rugby in South Africa? ‘‘We did Kruger last week, a lion park this week. It’s good to get out and about.’’

Luckily experienced hooker Codie Taylor, sitting alongside, was a little more forthcoming. The 31-year-old, 69-test Cantabrian, back in the 23 this week off the bench, was happy to inform de Groot what was coming when he ran out at a packed Ellis Park.

‘‘I’d say in the first two minutes he’ll be absolutely heaving because of the altitude and just the arena itself,’’ said Taylor.

‘‘It’s an intense place to play, but it’s also the best place to play in the world. There’s some awesome history at Ellis Park and I have fond memories of running round in the black jersey there. That work in getting off the ground is going to pay dividends, I think.’’

Taylor was naturally pleased to be back in the mix after watching from the stands in Mbombela, and keen to play his part in what Foster is anticipating will be an influential bench unit alongside the likes of debutant Fletcher Newell, Akira Ioane, Fin Christie and Beauden Barrett.

‘‘You always want to be out there, so getting an opportunity this week there is plenty of energy there,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m feeling pretty refreshed I suppose from the week off. It’s just another opportunity really and it doesn’t get much better than this given where we’ve been the last few weeks.’’

Taylor has played against the Boks 11 times in his career, for eight wins, a draw and two defeats, and his only appearance at Ellis Park was when he came off the bench in the 27-20 All Blacks victory in 2015.

Asked what made the matchup at the Boks’ intimidating Johannesburg venue so special, Taylor reflected on a location that has yielded just five New Zealand victories, against nine defeats.

‘‘It’s just two hugely proud rugby nations going head-to-head, combined with a bit of mutual respect.

‘‘There’s always good relationships built off the back of those games and a lot of respect between the players.

‘‘But once you’re out there it’s all go, you’re giving everything you can, because the Saffas aren’t small and it’s what it takes if you want to win over here.’’

Sport

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2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281977496400537

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