Referee rescues All Black Retallick from beating of a lifetime by Nic White
It has now got to the stage in global rugby that Nic White is so feared by the opposition that 121kg, 100 cap All Black Brodie Retallick was too scared of him to take him on on his own, and teamed up with prop George Dyer to take on the Wallaby.
In the first half of the Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific semi-final against the Brumbies in Hamilton, the timid Retallick saw his opportunity to start on the scrum-half by pushing him while Dyer was crouched behind him- also known as a benching. Retallick stood over him, but anyone watching could see in his eyes that he was desperate the Australian did not get back to his feet.
White sprung straight back to his feet, and Retallick’s life flashed before his eyes. He pushed Retallick back, and fortunately for the All Black referee Nic Berry swiftly intervened, knowing that the lock’s career would be over if he did not prevent the ass-whooping that was coming his way from a player 41kg lighter than him.
Take a look at the incident:
Nick vs Brodie pic.twitter.com/aB22OWF8OO
— RHABULA ☕️🐻 | 2023 Rugby World Cup (@Rugby_Scoop) June 17, 2023
The Brumbies are aiming at becoming the first Australian side to win Super Rugby since 2014, but in doing so they must beat the table toppers the Chiefs in the semi-final, and then the Crusaders in the final, who have more or less had a permanent lease on the trophy in recent years.
“We haven’t mentioned that, but no doubt you’ll be writing something in the paper about it, so (the players) will be reading about it,” coach Stephen Larkham said.
“We’ve got to get our preparation right, we’ve got to make sure we’re not getting overawed by the situation.
“There’s no point bringing up it’s a (semi-final), all games in Super Rugby are intense and Test-match quality when you come up against the best teams.
“Irrespective of finals, it’s trying to put a performance together … all year we’ve been developing our ability to perform on the weekend, through our preparation (and) this will be no different.”
