A dejected Sam Cane after the All Blacks' loss to the Pumas. Photo / Photosport
A dejected Sam Cane after the All Blacks' loss to the Pumas. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Well, it seems the coach is here to stay but you wonder, after that rather gormless loss to the Pumas, if the captain will survive.
He probably will. This version of the All Blacks doesn't do change, or not very much of it anyway. However, Sam Cane will haveto bear the brunt of this defeat.
At the risk of sounding a bit too much like Ian Foster, the All Blacks did some things well. The scrum really found its feet, embarrassing the Pumas at times, and the All Blacks did well enough at 15-6 up to suggest they were the better side.
But they lost the game in less than 15 minutes of bad judgement and execution in the second half, with Cane featuring heavily. It was an amalgam of mistakes, ill-discipline, weird refereeing and poor decisions, starting in the 51st minute.
Ian Foster and Sam Cane speak to the media following the All Blacks defeat. Photo / Getty
The All Blacks were already 19-18 down after Juan Martin Gonzalez's soft try from a kick-off when Scott Barrett spilled the ball, Gonzalez twisting away from weak defence from George Bower, Aaron Smith and Caleb Clarke.
Here's what happened next:
• 51 minutes: A big All Black scrum shunts the Argentines in the general direction of the South Pole. With a penalty signalled to the All Blacks, fullback Jordie Barrett sends through a limp grubber in the Pumas 22, easily disarmed by the defence. Clarke is outside him, ready for the pass, with only a couple of defenders left.
• 51 minutes: Cane decides to go for touch rather than try for the goal. At the lineout, Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli strangely penalises the All Blacks for obstruction, seeming to blame the two lifters. First black mark and a potential three points wasted.
• 55 minutes: Inspirational Pumas captain Julian Montoya wins a penalty, pulling off one of his many turnovers on the night. Flawless goalkicker Emiliano Boffelli adds to his clutch conversion of Gonzalez's try to make it 22-18.
• 57 minutes: With the All Blacks trying to wrest back control, Cane takes the ball into contact, is monstered in the tackle and held up, ceding the ball to Argentina.
• 59 minutes: The All Blacks win another penalty in a kickable position but kick to the corner again. Codie Taylor misses the throw, Argentina clear. Second black mark and a potential six points.
• 64 minutes: The ref misses an obvious forward pass and, in the ensuing action, Cane takes out Pablo Matera without the ball – penalty. Cane is replaced shortly after. Third black mark and unnecessary gifting of three points.
A dejected Sam Cane after the All Blacks' loss to the Pumas. Photo / Photosport
It's unfair to focus solely on Cane when the Pumas defended heroically and the All Blacks lost the depth of attack they showed against the Springboks. Other players had ordinary games, notably Taylor, whose second fluffed lineout throw in the last seconds surrendered any thought of a try and a 25-25 draw.
Maybe some think I'm just being a smart-ass, using hindsight as a weapon. However, some rather familiar chooks came home to roost. Two weeks ago, after the win at Ellis Park, this column took a cautionary stance on the heady victory hailed as a new dawn.
It said: "…the recipe for beating them [the All Blacks] remains: attack in scrums and lineouts, overpower and slow them at the breakdown, stifle them with defensive line speed, accurate kicking for territory and aerial retrieval, plus rolling mauls."
Jason Ryan's fixed the rolling maul defence and the scrum, it seems, but the rest still applies, doesn't it?
Another damaging stat was that the All Blacks have the lowest turnover rate in the Rugby Championship. As that same column said: "Turnovers have been key in recent tests, where the All Blacks have consistently been outdone by opposition jackals snaffling turnover ball at the breakdown.
"Before that win, Foster had said the team was on the verge of 'something special'. By its very definition, 'special' denotes something out of the ordinary. The All Blacks must now either make the special commonplace without being ambushed by rush defences – no easy feat and subject to upset – and/or they must ensure they have the forward grunt that wins the breakdown, freeing the jackals."
"Special" wore off fast although, to be fair, you could see how and why the All Blacks should have won this test. It was improvement of a kind. Sort of.
Sadly, the captain doesn't offer the All Blacks much going forward and his trademark defensive turnovers have been few and far between. Many think the best No 7 in New Zealand is playing at 8. It may be time to make an adjustment.
Especially as these are strange times, when senior players speak up publicly to prevent the coach being sacked. Cane was one, as were Sam Whitelock, David Havili, Ardie Savea and Richie Mo'unga. All – except for a pass mark for Savea – had average games.
If you go on record as supporting a beleaguered coach, you'd better have more to offer than words. Even a heartfelt testimonial can look self-serving if you fail to deliver. People may start to recall the meaning of phrases like "the tail wagging the dog".
