Jordie Barrett has revealed the ball was in play for only 27 of the 80 minutes of the All Blacks’ World Cup defeat to France in Paris, calling the figure “pretty crazy”.
The injured midfielder – progressing well from his knee joint issue but unlikely to play in his side’s next pool game against Namibia in Toulouse on Saturday morning NZT – spoke for probably all All Blacks’ supporters today when saying he would like to see more action and fewer breaks at this tournament, especially in matches involving the All Blacks.
He was reflecting on an opening weekend that featured compulsory water breaks in the middle of each half due to the hot conditions – an addition that has slowed matches even further. Compounding the issue has been a slippery ball caused by the humidity – many teams are struggling to hold on to it and build momentum and pressure, which leads to more stoppages.
It’s no secret that the All Blacks want to play the game at pace to stretch big opposition packs and defences. Their inability to do so against France contributed to their 27-13 defeat and likewise it was a big factor in their previous loss to the Springboks at Twickenham, where the ball was in play for 33 minutes – a number considered low then.
“It’s pretty clear at the moment that teams without [the ball] are doing a lot better,” Barrett said.
“[England’s] George Ford kicked 27 points with 14 men on the park [against Argentina] - he was outstanding. The Welsh made over 200 tackles and an attacking side like Fiji couldn’t cross [in the second half] until the last quarter because [the ball] was so greasy.
“We found in our game, there was only 27 minutes with the ball in play which is pretty crazy really in an 80-minute match. We’d like that number to be higher and bring some fatigue into the game.
“We’ve just got to adapt. Later in the tournament there will be different factors and it’s whoever adapts on the night when it gets to sudden death will go a long way in the tournament.”
The All Blacks’ opposition, starting with Namibia, will likely be eager to keep the pace of the game at what for them is a manageable level. Again, that’s no surprise but one of the biggest tasks for Ian Foster’s men will be finding ways to manipulate obdurate defences and finish opportunities with what now must be considered a misfiring attack.
They could do it only twice against France – left wing Mark Telea the beneficiary on both occasions – and only once against the Boks through replacement halfback Cam Roigard’s piece of individual brilliance.
An added wrinkle for the All Blacks is that although some teams are benefitting from playing without the ball - that tends to rely on effective kicking.
Assistant coach Jason Ryan hinted the All Blacks had taken to training with balls doused in water to replicate match-day conditions, adding his side had learned other things over the first eight matches of the tournament.
The major themes, he said, were “discipline, set piece pressure and kicking, and I think we learned lessons in all of those areas”.
What Ryan meant was the All Blacks were exposed in those areas and now that they had lost their first ever World Cup pool game the margin for error had shrunk even further.
The All Blacks also played Namibia at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and are expecting a confrontational approach from a side which won’t put them under pressure like France or the Boks or even Italy, who they play after a weekend off on September 30.
Barrett, badly missed by the All Blacks at the Stade de France for his ability to put his side on the front foot, will likely start against Italy in Lyon. Uruguay are the All Blacks’ final pool opponent.
“You want to be out there but it’s not all doom and gloom, it’s a long tournament and our team are in a good spot this week – I’m just happy to be back out training,” he said.
“You only need to look at what happened four years ago,” Barrett said, putting a positive spin on the All Blacks’ first-up loss.
“South Africa are world champs and lost the first game and got a few lessons in that game which put them in great stead for the rest of the tournament and we’re looking at doing something similar. It’s hot here at the moment and we probably didn’t adapt to those conditions as well as we could have.
“We’ve seen teams in the last few days struggle to do that as well – teams without the ball are going a long way to winning some of these Tests. They’re kicking a lot and forcing a lot of mistakes. It’s so hard to hold the ball so as the tournament goes on you have to adapt.”
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