Retallick sets lofty goals for 2015

Brodie Retallick

He might be the best player in the world but Chiefs lock has bigger goals this year

Where to now for the world's best rugby player?

Sure, there is a Rugby World Cup to win, a Super Rugby crown to regain. But how does IRB Player of the Year Brodie Retallick clear the head, bin the laurels and start again?

The man himself is not too fussed. He's not going to start running out thinking he has to be the best player in the world every time he takes a rugby field.

"It was a pretty big year in 2014, but 2015 is a new year and you can't rest on your laurels, so I'll try and work hard, get back to where I was last year and build on that again," said Retallick who, at 23, is at an age when most locks are working their way up in the game, copping physical hidings and learning to win their lineout ball any way they can. He has tasted defeat just once in his 36 tests and hits rucks with gusto, as he has done for the last four seasons.

Refreshed after another short, but clearly busy, off-season, Retallick has recharged his batteries and tied the knot.

"The body's pretty good. I got to put my feet up for a few weeks. Now I'm just excited to be back in the Chiefs' environment and pre-season."

Most All Blacks understandably look forward to pre-season like a trip to the dentist, but Retallick is unlikely to shirk anything in January and February, not when there's a base to build ahead of a big season.

"I've never had a World Cup year but, first and foremost, if you're not playing well for your franchise, you run the risk of not getting picked later in the year."

Very much the senior lock now at the Chiefs, Retallick likes the look of the roster.

"Everyone wants to go all the way. We've got a few new boys like Hosea [Gear] and Sonny Bill Williams who will join the group soon, so I think we've got a great mix."

Everyone else wants to know his plans post-Rugby World Cup as he comes off contract then. New Zealand Rugby will surely be making it an absolute priority to tie up their main lock. Retallick himself wasn't going to get too deep into details.

"We're just sorting that out with the NZRU at the moment. We don't have a date or deadline, so will just have to wait and see what happens."

Don't take that as Retallick being evasive. It just means his management will be busy and New Zealand Rugby will be counting the coins to throw at him.

His Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has no doubt he can back up his 2014 annus mirabilis.

"Brodie doesn't give anything less than a hundy. I don't think he knows how to anyway. He's a great role model for the rest of the guys. When he's on the field, the whole intensity lifts and he will empty the tank."

But he is not just the same second-rower who brought a high work-rate from Hawkes Bay to the Chiefs at the end of 2011. "There was a big shift. He worked hard on his skills and fitness because he certainly wasn't the finished product. His kickoffs and aerial work were average, but he's always had a big ticker and he was very physical. Now there's a lot more finesse around his footwork and distribution game," said Rennie.

Retallick will miss the Super Rugby opener against the Blues. That's okay. The country wants him peaking in October, not February.

The last man to claim back-to-back IRB Player of the Year awards was Richie McCaw, the game's most decorated individual, and a man who consistently delivers for the best team at the highest level. Retallick is now in that company. Expect him to live up to the billing.