Whitelock’s mindset wins over Perenara

Whitelock’s mindset wins over Perenara

Whitelock’s mindset wins over Perenara

SQUAD NAMING: ALL BLACKS NAMED FOR FIRST BLEDISLOE TEST

He will join Richie McCaw (148), Keven Mealamu (132), Tony Woodcock (118), Dan Carter (112), Kieran Read (109), Ma’a Nonu (103) and Mils Muliana (100) in the illustrious club.

Perenara said having grown up playing against Whitelock through various levels of the game he hated him but having been in the All Blacks environment together he admired his work ethic and love for the game.

“His ability to flick a switch and be in this killer mindset out on the field, it’s something you want to be a part of and it’s something you want on your team.

“It’s hard to play against and it can grind your gears when you are playing against him but for someone to have that mindset and just to not care about what’s in his way each and every time he gets between those lines it only brings everyone else up,” he said.

Wing Rieko Ioane said Whitelock had a huge voice in the team, especially among the younger players.

“Just seeing his leadership is probably the biggest impact he has on me as a young fellow and the core young group in this team. Him leading us by example rather than voice is the way he goes about things,” he said.

Perenara said preparing well to play Australia was important because Wallabies halfback Will Genia had been one of the better attacking halfbacks in world rugby for some time.

“His ability to spot a hole and punish teams when we give him opportunities is second to none. For us we need to prepare, and know the reads that he is looking for and that we don’t give him those sorts of reads.

“The more he gets going the better their team looks, not just for the Wallabies but for any team he plays in. If Will’s going forward, if Will’s making splits their forward pack goes forward, their backs go forward so it makes their game a lot harder to contain.

“We’ll do our homework, we’ll make sure we don’t give him the opportunities that he needs to hurt us,” he said.

Perenara said the All Blacks didn’t feel they owned the Bledisloe Cup. It didn’t belong to either country and each year it was up for grabs.

“We’re about putting ourselves in the best position to win the Bledisloe Cup and let’s see how it starts with the first game,” he said.

So far as the Test itself was concerned Ioane said he played his best rugby when he was enjoying the moment and his preparation was geared towards reaching that level.

“I’m still at the point where everything is exciting to me. We could play a club team and it would still be exciting to me. As long as I’m enjoying my moment, my time out here that’s only going to help for a positive performance or at least a positive start,” he said.

Ioane said he found the All Blacks’ game of three halves with Canterbury and Otago invaluable. It had been a while since he had played and while his lungs were burning a little it had been good to be tackling and running at players again.

He was uncertain of what to expect from the game but had been pleased with the competitiveness the two sides produced and it was a good way to build towards Sydney.

Ioane said he hadn’t found it difficult to transition from the midfield role he played with the Blues in the latter part of their campaign to the wing position for the All Blacks.

Playing inside had increased his awareness of what he would like to receive when on the wing.

“As a 12 [second five-eighths] I know what I would be wanting as a wing so it makes it easier to feed them the ball or vice versa as a wing what you want off your 12,” he said.


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