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Now you've heard it all

rugby17 September 2019 11:40| © SuperSport
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Here are your quotable quotes from everything that was said in and around the Rugby World Cup today:

On the suggestion from South Africa’s assistant coach Matthew Proudfoot that the injured Brodie Retallick might play for the All Blacks on Saturday:
"I do not know why Matthew would think that. He’s (Retallick) quite hard to hide from you guys, a six-foot nine-inch (2.05m) monster, so we haven’t been sneaking him in in training or anything like that. He’s progressing really strongly but I’m pretty sure he won’t be there on Saturday. But you never know," said All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster while trying to keep a straight face.

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On what makes the South Africa-New Zealand rivalry so special:
“Deep respect, I reckon. We’ve always had a great regard for the South Africans as a rugby team. They’re a team we probably have our most physical contests with but one we probably have the best chat in the shed with afterwards. It’s probably as simple as that.” - Ian Foster

Surely what happens in the shed stays in the shed?

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On the All Blacks' approach to players' tattoos in Japan:
"In Kashiwa, that spa was a public one so we had to wear skivvies or tights (when at the spa) and that’s OK. We’re in Japan, we’ve got to embrace their way, their culture and we’re happy to cover up. We have to respect and adapt as All Blacks. We’re grateful to be here and we don’t want to act like we’re anything bigger than we are." - All Black scrumhalf Aaron Smith

Tat who?

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On the South African defenders taking chances in defence:
"Their wingers take a bit of a punt sometimes in the way they defend. I don’t want to give too much away but we’ve got a way around that, we think, and we’ve been training for that. It is a bit of a gamble. If they do it right, they can shut down an attack; but if we can execute our plans we’ve put in place, it will give us opportunities.” - All Black three-quarter Ben Smith

All together now: You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...

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On when he first dreamed of becoming an All Black:
“When I could first dream.” - Anton Lienert-Brown

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On facing South Africa on 6 September, 2019, having been born there, grown up in Pretoria and become eligible to represent Japan in June:
"When I was small I thought it'd be the other way around but this is the way it panned out. (I'm) still a bit emotional hearing the South Africa anthem but proud to sing the Japanese national anthem." - Lappies Labuschagne

Do we also have to call him Labu-shane now?

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On losing weight due to the hot conditions:
"We got good prep in those first 10 to 12 days, so we are prepared for anything that the weather can do here. It’s important to drink a lot of water. The odd kilo or two dropping is not all that bad." - Frans Malherbe

You should start writing a book called "The World Cup diet" now, before Tim Noakes gets to hear about this.

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