All Blacks great Zinzan Brooke warns 'leggy' South Africa ahead of World Cup final

All Black great Zinzan Brooke has warned the Springboks they could be torn apart in the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday by an Ardie Savea inspired New Zealand team at the Stade de France.

Central to the All Blacks challenge will be Savea, as the most naturally gifted All Blacks No8 since Brooke, a unique player who entered rugby folklore with a 47m drop goal against England at the 1995 tournament.

With Savea driving New Zealand towards a fourth title, Brooke told RugbyPass: “South Africa have come the hard way (into the final) and will have to buck up their ideas and actually deliver or else the All Blacks will open them up and expose the Springboks deficiencies we saw in the semi-final against England.”

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Savea has won more caps and scored more tries than his illustrious predecessor in the No8 jersey but as Brooke joked “he hasn’t delivered the full Monty yet!”. Given the way Savea has been playing in the World Cup it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he suddenly launched a drop goal between the posts against South Africa and then did it again to prove it wasn’t a fluke.

It has been a measure of Savea’s excellence that even when the doubters were circling the All Blacks in the lead up to the World Cup, his performances stood out making him a much needed source of inspiration in times of great need. In France, he has somehow reached an even higher level of individual brilliance with his impact in the quarter-final win over Ireland simply stunning. One minute he was clearing the ball from the base of a ruck on the All Blacks line like a scrum-half and the next he was diving in to score a try that required the balletic ability of an international wing.

In between Savea delivered the intensely physical ball carrying that has always made him such a fan favourite and it is this remarkable skills set that has Brooke purring as he delivers his verdict on the current All Blacks No8. Brooke told RugbyPass: “What Ardie possesses is power and an explosive ability to make ground with little runs which are vitally important. The three or four metres he makes puts the team on the front foot and he has a wonderful offloading ability. Ardie achieves that more than most and his mobility is fantastic. I don’t know his playing weight, but I was around 116-118kgs in the sun and when we went to the Northern Hemisphere you put two or three kilos on so on average it was 117kgs. What is Ardie? 110kgs?”

Savea is actually 100kgs which is remarkable given the impact he makes against bigger opponents and it is his footballing skills allied to clever footwork that allows the 80-cap forward to exploit weaknesses he identifies in the defensive line. “What also sets Ardie apart is that as a ball carrier he really fights to stay on his feet while others go to ground too soon,” added Brooke. “With his beautiful hands it means he can offload to a support runner even if he is under intense pressure. He has adapted incredibly well moving from No6 to No8 and he has the skills to play No7 as well.”

As a reference point for the final, Brooke highlights the quality of the rugby the All Blacks delivered to knock Ireland, the No1 ranked team in the world, out of the quarter-finals 28-24. He explained: “That win over Ireland – I don’t think I have ever seen an All Blacks side play that well. The clinical precision (to go 13-0 up) gave me the confidence they would do the job and the whole 23 needed a pat on the back for that performance.”

Brooke has been enjoying the impact Courtney Lawes has been making for England and describes the Northampton blind side as “magnificent”, particularly in the agonising one point loss to South Africa in semi-final. The way England took the game to South Africa has given the All Blacks various options in Saturday’s final, particularly with Savea equipped to be just as aggressive and disruptive for the Springboks back row.

England’s cause was undermined by scrum problems once their first choice props Joe Marler and Dan Cole were replaced and while Brooke acknowledges the Springboks scrum power he is confident the All Blacks have the power and front row strength in depth to avoid handing the opposition a significant advantage in the second-half.

With the Springboks losing 13-8 to Ireland in the pool stage and then having to dig deep to beat France (29-28) and England (16-15) with the boot of Handre Pollard, the defending champions could be “leggy” heading into the final. They have been trying to limit the game time of key players such as captain Siya Kolisi and brought off lock Eben Etzebeth early against England in the semi-final. The All Blacks, in contrast, hammered Argentina 44-6 to reach the final.

“The Springboks were ‘lost’ (against England) and the confidence has to be in the All Blacks camp,” said Brooke. “Can South Africa produce their best? Yes, but you have to create that doubt, get down there, take the points and create pressure. There was a chance for England and their loose forwards were brilliant. Ardie, like Courtney Lawes, has been lifting everyone with his performances.

“My gut is telling me the All Blacks will have confidence going into the final. Coming into the tournament, I had doubts because I didn’t see the consistency from the All Blacks but if I had seen them deliver the kind of rugby we saw in the Ireland quarter-final I would have said ‘these All Blacks mean business.’ They will keep it simple against the Springboks, be accurate and play at pace and with passion.”