Sam Cane and his All Blacks teammates celebrate after winning the Bledisloe Cup. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Even now, a week on from Marvel Stadium's dramatic scenes, the wild and highly controversial Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne makes your head spin.
As the rematch at a sold-out Eden Park approaches, Liam Napier breaks down the good, the bad, and the ugly from the All Blacks' latest offering.
The good
• Starting strongly hasn't come easy for the All Blacks. They conceded the opening try in all three Irish tests and the defeat against the Springboks in Mbombela. Since then, though, the All Blacks have belatedly sourced solutions to strike first in three of their last four tests. In Melbourne they led 10-0 early, only to squander that by the 26th minute.
• Other than the final botched attempt, where the All Blacks opted to throw long and lost their feet on the drive to concede the penalty from which Bernard Foley was penalised for time wasting, the maul continues to be a weapon for the All Blacks. Samisoni Taukei'aho should have converted two tries from this platform – he lost the second attempt over the line in Jake Gordon's tackle. In another rumble the All Blacks drew a yellow card for Gordon collapsing a maul that stormed 20 metres towards the Wallabies line.
• Alongside the maul, Jason Ryan's introduction as forwards coach can also be attributed for the vast lineout improvements. The All Blacks retained all 13 throws and pinched two from Wallabies. Their lineout variations such as using the No 8, in last week's case Hoskins Sotutu, from first receiver to dish an inside ball to the wing has brought great success too. In that instance Sotutu set Caleb Clarke away for his 60-metre burst that led to yellow cards for Tom Wright and Darcy Swain at the same breakdown. Ardie Savea has previously executed similar lineout moves with Will Jordan.
• Identifying and exploiting space through the short kicking game came to the fore in the demolition job against Argentina in Hamilton - and was again widely evident last week. Richie Mo'unga and David Havili initially led the way before Beauden Barrett twice found Jordan with two pinpoint kicks. The first helped lay on Taukei'aho's triple dummy double. The second Jordan finished with a superb left foot step.
The bad
• Sloppy defence – 18 missed tackles – that allowed the Wallabies to finish within one refereeing decision of a famous upset. Foley strolled past Sotutu for Andrew Kellaway's first try that should have been ruled out due to a clear forward pass. Clarke, defending in the midfield, was beaten by the long ball after rushing in to try and prevent Kellaway's second try. Jordan then missed a one-on-one tackle on Pete Samu in the movement that levelled the match. In each case, the All Blacks demand much better. From a physicality perspective the All Blacks were not consistently where they needed to be, either, with Samu and Rob Valetini in particular delivering several dominant carries.
• Skill execution continues to be frustrating theme for the All Blacks this season. It can be exceptional, and then it can be decidedly average. When the Wallabies were reduced to 13 men the All Blacks should have scored two more tries. Rieko Ioane was caught in two minds about whether to run or pass – eventually firing a ball behind Beauden Barrett that he dropped to blow one clear chance. Sotutu, with two men outside him, opted for an all-or-nothing grubber that blew a certain try, too. Had the All Blacks properly punished the Wallabies during this time, they would not have needed French referee Mathieu Raynal to hand them the final scrum that they were good enough to take.
• The scrum set a largely impressive platform against the Pumas but issues returned in Melbourne, with the All Blacks retaining 2/5 feeds for a 40 per cent return. Some of those losses came while one man down in the pack, with Dalton Papali'i in the bin, but this is a clear regression. After selecting the same front row in the past four tests, changes this week would, therefore, not surprise.
• Before the Raynal decision, after the Wallabies claimed three tries to draw level, the All Blacks missed a crucial ruck cleanout attempt following a Papali'i carry on halfway that gave Nic White the chance to steal the lead for the first time in the 76th minute. Two cleaners failed to remove Valetini, handing the Wallabies the penalty. This movement was symptomatic of the All Blacks' inconsistent work at the breakdown where they mixed strong counter rucking with ineffective efforts.
The ugly
• Inexplicably blowing an 18-point second half lead is a black eye for the All Blacks. There is no excuse for any form of complacency, for clocking off in such fashion. Immediately after the match Ian Foster trumpeted the All Blacks composure to score the match-winning try through Mo'unga, Jordan and Jordie Barrett. Come Monday and the customary review, though, and we heard shots were fired about how and why the All Blacks let the Wallabies storm back. It's not as if this is a one off, either. While the All Blacks rallied to close out their Ellis Park triumph, they should have put the Pumas away in Christchurch. In many ways last week's discipline and defending in the second half accurately reflects their 4-4 season.
• The Darcy Swain incident that ended Quinn Tupaea's season. The more angles you view, the worse Swain's intent appears. The way he wraps his arm around Tupaea's leg is possibly the most damning evidence. After receiving a two-match suspension for a headbutt against England in July, Swain has surely played his last rugby this year.
• Raynal's lack of control that allowed Kellaway's first try to stand after Foley slotted a cheeky conversion while the officials checked his clear forward pass. At the very least Raynal had to maintain his convictions – and listen to his officials – that the pass needed to be checked. He instead confirmed the conversion in a state of bizarre confusion.
Slightly late to highlight this but the Kiwis World Cup squad is properly stacked. In the NRL finals series the central figures are often those from Michael Maguire's squad.
Ronaldo Mulitalo's supreme aerial ability ranked him the best player on the park for the Sharks in their one-sided loss to the Rabbitohs last week. Isaiah Papali'i and Dylan Brown continue to play pivotal roles for the Eels. And James Fisher-Harris remains one of the game's premier props as the Panthers seek successive rings.
Throw in Jahrome Hughes, Joseph Manu, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Brandon Smith and my punt on the Kiwis to claim the World Cup at $7 – they've since dropped to $4.50 – is looking better by the day.
Team songs are personal and rarely consumed in public. Perhaps that's why I thoroughly enjoyed Wellington's passionate celebration that culminated in their "Wellyhoo, Wellyhoorah" song following their scarce Ranfurly Shield victory against Hawke's Bay – their second Log o' Wood success in 40 years. Fortunately for Wellington they now have an, um, easy defence against Waikato this weekend.
Record: 11/27 (-$18)
In a slump here, so The Sauce is turning to three favourites – the Silver Ferns against the patchwork Jamaican side that will feature their coach on the bench after their visa fiasco, the Panthers and All Blacks in a multi that pays $2.
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