Jordie Barrett admits All Blacks' high-ball battle with Springboks 'turns into a bit of a lottery'

Jordie Barrett has conceded that the All Blacks’ aerial battle against the Springboks remains an unresolved problem, describing the contest for high balls as “a bit of a lottery” ahead of the third Test in their four-match series.

Speaking to reporters in Cape Town, the second-five reflected on a pattern that has dogged New Zealand across the opening two Tests. Despite a tactical adjustment from the coaching staff — having wingers retreat with the ball, tracking it over their shoulder toward their own dead-ball line — the Springboks have found ways to disrupt the system.

“Yeah, like if you just looked at the last Test, we kicked very little contestables. The ones we did kick, we did win back,” Barrett said. “They kicked quite a lot, and they’re often a lot shorter. So our fullback in the backfield, it’s not his job to get it. It’s kind of in that zone where they want to make it messy and get scraps.”

Barrett pointed to the laws of the game as a complicating factor for the receiving side. “Unfortunately, the laws of the game at the moment don’t, I guess, help a receiving team. We saw how Tupou Vaa’i was penalised. You’ve got to get up and contest, and you can’t stand around the area or protect your catcher. So, it turns into a bit of a lottery.”

After the first Test at Ellis Park, South Africa refined their counter to the retreating winger tactic, positioning chasers between the ball and the intended catcher to disrupt the jump. The adjustment has made it consistently harder for the All Blacks to secure possession from either their own kicks or South Africa’s.

Despite the frustration, Barrett was clear that the team has not abandoned hope of finding a solution before Saturday’s third Test. “We’ve got plans and ways around that in terms of trying to win as many of those as possible, but yeah, we practice it a lot. Trust me, it’s a lot harder than it probably looks on the telly, so yeah, we’re working really hard.”

The 27-year-old outlined the broader priorities for the All Blacks going into the next match. “We’re going to have to tidy up a lot of stuff around the air, winning the scraps on the ground, and trying to minimise their entries into our half, so they can’t get their power game on. Then getting our own game on too, trying to use the ball, yeah, within reason.”