All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has praised his side for finishing over the top of Wales in Cardiff this morning in a victory that the visitors had to work hard for.
The All Blacks’ final Test of the year was always going to be a no-win scenario after last weekend’s deflating defeat against England that killed their hopes of a Grand Slam.
Wales, ranked No.12 in the world, have won only one home Test over the last two years and few expected them to stay with a side ranked No.2 even despite the All Blacks’ inconsistencies this year.
As it was, the home side performed above expectations during their 52-26 defeat, with Tom Rogers the first Wales player to score a hat-trick of tries against the All Blacks; the left wing responding quickly to each of the three tries scored by Caleb Clarke, Tamaiti Williams and Ruben Love.
There was mitigation for the final-quarter blowout by the All Blacks too, with yellow cards for replacement prop Gareth Thomas and loose forward Taine Plumtree contributing to tries for Sevu Reece (two), Rieko Ioane and Clarke again.
As they have all year, the All Blacks struggled with their transition defence but there were huge upsides in their far greater discipline and 100% set piece success rate.
Robertson had made 13 changes to his starting line-up, but, while the attack struggled to find its feet at times in the first half, there were signs of promise – notably from fullback Love, starting only his second Test, No.8 Wallace Sititi, and the impact of Leicester Fainga’anuku off the bench.
“The guys stood up,” Robertson said. “The guys that got an opportunity played really well. There were some good combinations… we gave 45 guys opportunities this year to build competition and depth and make sure we give guys exposure over this four-year cycle to the World Cup.”
The All Blacks also had two tries ruled out – the first, by Clarke after he ran through two would-be defenders, after Damian McKenzie’s conversion.
That one was disallowed for a knock-on by Du’Plessis Kirifi but the next, scored immediately afterwards by right wing Will Jordan, was harder for Robertson to understand.
Referee Hollie Davidson awarded the try for Jordan, who powered through heavy traffic to get to the line, but changed her mind when deciding he had forced the ball down after initially being held up.
Robertson made reference to the decision by Davidson, who made history as the first woman to referee an All Blacks’ Test, when explaining his side’s strategy for wearing out the Welsh defence.
“They had made about 160 tackles and we knew if we held the ball for long enough that would fatigue them and that the edge would become available.
“But they just wouldn’t go away and then the held-ups, the reviews upstairs and it was a ‘try then a no-try’ and then another ‘try but a no-try’… the ability to keep the pace on was taken away.”
Robertson added, on what would have been Jordan’s 46th Test try: “She said it was clear and obvious and then it wasn’t clear and obvious... It has to be clear and obvious for it to be turned over and it wasn’t. I think that’s something we have to look at [with] World Rugby.
“She blows the whistle and we go back and they still couldn’t confirm it. We’ll ask for clarity on that.”
For skipper Scott Barrett, the tour was ultimately adjudged a failure after the defeat at Twickenham but he felt the “trajectory as a team is up”.
“Before we hopped on the plane we had a clear vision to win a Grand Slam and, last week, England pulled the rug out from underneath us. It probably took a few days for the guys to look forward to tonight.
“There will be plenty of time over the next few weeks to reflect on where we are as a team. I think there has been improvement as the season has worn on. At times, we weren’t where we wanted to be during key stages of the season.
“Ultimately, our trajectory as a team is up. There is a big two years ahead of us. Razor and the group should be excited about the challenges that lie ahead for this team.”
Barrett was reluctant to review the season in its entirety but assistant coach Jason Ryan was happier to do so.
“Over the last two years we’ve had 19 new All Blacks and a lot of those have been in the forward pack," Ryan said. "They’re trending in the right direction. They’ve experienced the hot environment of Test rugby and they’ll be better for it.
“Consistency is a big one in big-pressure Test matches. Keeping the pressure on and not making a silly error or giving away a yellow card and losing that momentum will be a big one.
“We’ve really got to look at ourselves and our decision-making under pressure,” Ryan said, with reference to his team’s defeats to Argentina, South Africa and England.
“What I do know is that every All Black team or player and coach has been in the furnace at some point in their career. We’ve experienced a bit of that and we probably still are a little bit.
“We understand as All Blacks that there is an expectation. We’re hard on ourselves as well. We’re never satisfied – at times you either lose or don’t win good enough and that’s the reality of what we do.
“We’ll be better for this season – I know we will, heading into a brutal year next year.”
SHARE ME