Sean Fitzpatrick: Former All Blacks captain on 4th test against Springboks

The All Blacks will face off against the Springboks in their fourth test on Sunday, September 13, at 9am with the hopes of bringing the score to 2-2. 

"It'd be nice to be able to draw the series, which will be a lot better feeling," Former All Blacks hooker and captain Sean Fitzpatrick told Andrew Dickens.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So here we go, Sunday, 9am, we've got a game
of football, rugby football, and it's a big one too,
and it's number one and number two. The All Blacks
against the Springboks, and it's happening in Baltimore, and there's
a full house there, 70,000 people. And the team was
named this morning by Dave Rennie. Richie Maunga's come back
at first five instead of Ruben Love, but he says

(00:21):
Ruben Love's not done anything wrong, but, you know, it's Richie.
Cody Taylor's come back at hooker, even though he couldn't
even make the 23th. for the last test, but they
needed a captain, and he's going to be the captain.
He'll be back doing the haka instead of quintupla. And
they're just two big talking points from the All Blacks
lineup for the fourth test. So let's talk about this.

(00:41):
A man from the Front Rower Club who can tell
us about the pack, Sean Fitzpatrick, joins us this time
from London. Hello, Sean.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Good morning, Andrew. Good evening, your time.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
It's good evening, yeah. I thought, oh, goodness me, he's
back in London, because, of course, we got used to
seeing you on the telly and holding the flag and
all that sort of thing, so the junket ran out
and it didn't do the fourth game.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, we're back in London, which is good, and looking
forward to, you know, obviously the test on Saturday night
in Baltimore, which, you know, after a fantastic three games
in South Africa, which, you know, could have gone either way, so...
It'd be nice to be able to draw the series,
which would be a lot better feeling.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Is it a commercial bolt-on or is this a real
game in your eyes?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
It's definitely a real game, Andrew, but yes, commercially it's
viable and it's also in terms of 31, 2031 when
the World Cup's going to America, it's helping promote that
for world rugby.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
All right, we got beaten up, it's fair to say.
The South Africans got beaten up too. They made two changes,
but they've pretty much got the same team. But we've
had some wholesale changes with Richie and Cody and, of course,
Rico Iwani and Bowden Barrett, both coming back into the
starting 23. So should we be a bit worried that
we've got some newbies up against a very settled side
in South Africa?

Speaker 2 (02:05):
I think Dave Rennie said, you know, in terms of Moanga,
for example, that was planned. Ruben Loves had an outstanding tour.
He's played a lot of rugby. But Moanga gives us
a bit of calmness. Obviously, a huge experience. And the
other changes, you know, we're thinking about next year in

(02:26):
Australia in terms of the World Cup. We've built amazing
depth throughout this tour. And this team is a reflection
of that, along with, obviously, the injuries that have caused
a number of these changes. But I'm really pleased for
Cody Taylor. He's been a great stalwart of the All Blacks,
a huge experience, and that's what's going to be needed.

(02:47):
As we saw in the three tests, the experience factor
is crucial in those key moments.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Of course, people who say it's just a commercial bolt
on are not remembering the nation's championship. And this is
points for the nation's championship. And that final will be
held at Twickenham. And that's going to be even more massive,
90,000 people there. I mean, it's going to be absolutely
huge and a financial windfall. So how important is the
nation's championship these days in the thinking of a side?

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well, what I think this Greatest Rivalry Tour has done, Andrew,
is it's created a meaningful game, a meaningful tour, which
people have just, you know, the way that they have
loved what they've been seeing and the viewing numbers are huge.
And the Nations Championship has done exactly that. Up here
in the summer, the three weeks in a row, three Saturdays,

(03:38):
people were just engrossed in watching the rugby. And now
we're all looking forward to the autumn in November for
those three Saturdays to see who makes the final at
Twickenham on the final Saturday of November. So just go
back to what I said, meaningful rugby encourages people to
watch it and enjoy it.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, absolutely. So you've got to make a pick. Who's
going to win? Would you like to put points on it?
Would you like to put money on it?

Speaker 2 (04:06):
As I said, I'd love to. Those three tests in
South Africa were lost at key moments. The South Africans
definitely got better. I thought they were definitely the best
team at F & B Stadium last week. But I
think what Dave Rennie's done is he's created depth. They're
definitely going in the right direction. And I know for
a fact that they'd rather draw the series than lose 3-1,

(04:30):
which has got a real... Not a great feel about it,
but I'm really pleased with where they're going. And this
team that's playing on Saturday is a quality team. Let's
see Ricky Ayoani back on the bench, see Brady Barrett
on the bench, you know, so Titi on the bench.
We've got a real impact off the bench, which is
going to be vital.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
Great stuff. Sean, it's been lovely hearing you over the
last month back on the New Zealand Airwaves and your
opinions are very valued. And thank you for taking time
out for us. It must be early in the morning
for you in London. Thank you once again and have
yourself a great weekend. It is 19 to 6.