We chatted with dynamic hooker Anaru Rangi in order to reveal his most satisfying win in the navy blue.
Which victory was most memorable for you?
Beating the Sharks at AAMI Park, 46-14 in 2018, was the first time I was part of a side which had beaten a South African team.
The team came out of the changing rooms and were ready to win at all costs - it was such a different feeling and something I had never encountered before in my career. There was a genuine feeling of confidence and that there was no way we weren’t going to lose.
What do you remember about the build-up to the game?
At the time it was probably the most prepared team I've been a part of. We worked really hard at training during the week.
We knew where we were going to attack and why and it would work.
What was the turning point in the game?
They kicked off but we had a plan of what we would do if they kicked to a particular spot – which they did that – and so we executed the reading to perfection, running fifty meters up the field.
From that point on, I knew the things we had worked at hard during the week, were going to work during the game. And so, we continued to build pressure the whole game, putting the South Africans on the back foot.
Which teammate earned your man of the match vote and why?
Bill Meakes played out of his skin and was just so dominant with both ball in hand and in defence.
He put us on the front foot attack wise and put a lot of pressure on them in defence, making it very tough for them to get the ball into the wide channels and making the forwards job really easy.
How did you celebrate afterwards?
Nothing too big knowing we had to do it all over again the next week but most of the team enjoyed a couple celebratory beers together.
