Veteran New Zealand lock Brodie Retallick heaped praised on the All Blacks newbies for their performance against Japan on Saturday, admitting it was strange watching the Test in England.
The All Blacks sent a number of their star players early to England to prepare for their Test in London this weekend, with selectors naming eight debutants for the Japan Test in Tokyo.
Retallick, 27, said the players stood up to the test, with a number of rookies stamping their mark in their 69-31 victory.
"It was a wee bit different, it was quite exciting to see the boys go out there and do what they did," said Retallick.
"Especially some of those boys that had a week in the environment and then go out there and perform like they did."
Retallick told media in London this morning about his first experience in the All Blacks camp and how much pressure he felt.
"I sort of thought back to my first week, how nerve-wracking and how much learning I had to do.
"To go out and play with the freedom that they did, I thought they did an outstanding job."
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