The All Blacks may take to the Eden Park pitch against Australia on Saturday with their ears still ringing from a confronting review of their performance in retaining the Bledisloe Cup in such dramatic and controversial circumstances in Melbourne.
The celebrations after the 39-37 victory at Marvel Stadium were traditional – photos appear to show a suspiciously cold substance in the famous and rather large old trophy – but, according to Beauden Barrett, the team were quickly brought down to earth today as the coaches examined how they conceded an 18-point lead in the second half.
The Wallabies should have won the Test to keep their Bledisloe Cup hopes alive but for referee Mathieu Raynal’s bold call regarding Bernard Foley’s time-wasting at the end which opened the door for Jordie Barrett to score the match-winner in the corner.
It would have been a crushing loss for the All Blacks after their good start in going 10-0 up and then 31-13 up early in the second half as the home side struggled to cope with the sinbinning of Darcy Swain and Tom Wright.
As it is, the performance raised more questions about their decision-making, concentration and overall consistency, and Foster and company apparently didn’t miss in pointing out the All Blacks’ shortcomings.
“It was very honest and there are a few boys a bit scratchy at the moment which is great,” Beauden Barrett said.
“It’s where you want to be on a Monday – not feeling comfortable at all and with plenty of edge in camp. There’s a lot to work on. We obviously didn’t put an 80-minute performance together on Thursday night. That’s going to be the challenge this week.
“It’s reassuring that when we do what we train we can perform really well. We can’t afford to have mental lapses which give them easy tries and the ability to make it a contest right down the stretch. We shot ourselves in the foot, we gave up a comprehensive lead and a lot of it was individual errors or mental lapses.”
No.8 Hoskins Sototu's decision to kick the ball rather than pass after making an extremely promising break will likely have been touched on, and even Samisoni Taukei'aho's second try could be looked at. Taukei'aho had three players unmarked outside him when he dummied and went himself. Fortunately for him and the All Blacks, the hooker made it to the line.
Read more: Beauden Barrett on horror Tupaea injury: 'He was a sitting duck'
Both Beauden Barrett, who spoke of "shots" being fired in the review, and halfback Aaron Smith spoke of a “complacency” in the team after they accelerated to a commanding lead, and clearly that is being targeted by the coaches this week as the Wallabies seek to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park for the first time since 1986.
“They’re going to pick a team that’s going to try to beat us up, they’re going to try to pick a team that’s going to want to play with the ball,” Smith said.
“The focus is more on what we’re going to do this week – what we’re going to clean up as a team. The opportunity [to win the Rugby Championship] - the last game at home [for the year] everything boils down to this weekend.”
The All Blacks will almost certainly need a win, and potentially a good win, to ensure they stay ahead of the Springboks and win the Championship. Currently both nations are on the same competition points, but the All Blacks have a better points differential (by 14 points). The Boks play the Pumas in Durban on Sunday morning NZT after beating them 36-20 in Buenos Aires last weekend.
And they will have to do so with a reshuffled midfield due to injury – fullback Jordie Barrett is the favourite to replace David Havili and Quinn Tupaea in the No.12 jersey.
Barrett started at first-five against Namibia during the 2019 World Cup but has never started a Test at second-five, although he has made clear his intentions to do so.
He moved from fullback to the midfield following Havili's head knock and Tupaea’s knee injury last Thursday, a position which he may keep for the rematch.
“It was good to see him move in,” brother Beauden said today.
“He was the third 12 on the pitch. I thought he went really well. It’s a position that isn’t too foreign. He played there a lot at school and Lincoln and Canterbury and [the New Zealand] Under-20s. He’s very capable there. I don’t know what it will mean for this week but he has some desire to play there.”
Beauden, who replaced Jordie at fullback at Marvel Stadium, is likely to stay there this week. Head coach Ian Foster could be keen on trying Will Jordan there but that would entail selecting a new right wing – the most obvious is Sevu Reece.
However, that would provide more disruption, and a relatively small back three should Caleb Clarke retain his place, as expected.
And while the attack flowed for the All Blacks halftime as they scored three converted tries via Taukei’aho, Richie Mo’unga and Will Jordan in the space of 15 minutes, maintaining that on what will likely be a wet Auckland night with a significant change in personnel will not be easy.
The spotlight will again be on Mo’unga to direct operations at No.10 and this time probably with Beauden Barrett at fullback – a combination which hasn’t always flowed as well as it might given their attacking instincts.
“I think sometimes I do crowd him a little too much naturally, so it’s just still giving him that first receiver priority and getting better at playing off him as second receiver,” Beauden said.
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