Another Test at Murrayfield, another victory.
The All Blacks’ undefeated streak at Scottish rugby HQ extended to 21 on Sunday, the most by any international team in history at an away ground.
While the victory itself was fairly routine - at least, as far as wins in Edinburgh go - there were still a handful of talking points to emerge from the 43-21 triumph.
Lock Fabian Holland & Scott Barrett in as locks
While it raised widespread eyebrows at the time, Dave Rennie’s decision to drop Fabian Holland for the opening Bledisloe Cup Test may have been a masterstroke of motivational manipulation.
The Dutch destroyer has since been on a redemption tour of epic proportions, as if he were terrified of giving his head coach the faintest sniff of a reason to leave him out of the side.
On the back of his statement in Sydney, Holland was omnipresent in Edinburgh, making himself a menace at the breakdown and in the air – both at lineout time and restarts.
Alongside the newcomer, Scott Barrett is proving the ideal ying to Holland’s looser yang, playing a tighter, more power-based role and fortifying the foundation of an All Blacks’ scrum which had been manhandled in South Africa, but has since looked considerably more robust.
Unencumbered by the burdens of captaincy and finally fully fit, Barrett has been operating at peak gusto levels, particularly with his clean-outs and defensive efforts around the fringes of the ruck.
“He’s been awesome,” Rennie said of Barrett’s impact this year.
He’s just got a big, big engine and does a lot of unseen stuff around tackle and carry and clean barge.
“He’s been great and I thought Fabian had a big game again tonight.”
Both capable of consistently going the full 80, the pair form an intimidating dual threat and may – nay, should – be the answer to a second row which has been somewhat of a selection rolling door in recent years.
Beauden Barrett is back like he never left
Speculation of Barrett's demise has been greatly exaggerated, and it might officially be time to stop doubting and start believing in the All Blacks veteran as a genuine difference-maker for next year’s World Cup.
Making his 148th international appearance, Barrett was at his wily best at Murrayfield, popping up – as he tends to do - in all of the right places at all of the right times, riding Damian McKenzie’s shoulder for a second-straight brace of tries as arguably New Zealand’s stand-out player.
Of course, he may have lost a step of pace, though his 70m intercept try against the Wallabies in Sydney might suggest that’s also a slightly overstated observation.
But rugby smarts go a long way to compensating for waning athleticism, and few have played the game with more intelligence than Barrett.
His tactical kicking, the timing and angles with which he injects himself into the offence, they’re instinctive nuances which decide Test matches and rarely fade with time,
Given the grasp with which McKenzie now seems to have on the No. 10 jersey, what started as a stop-gap measure in the absence of the injured Richie Mo’unga may well be deemed a long-term solution by Dave Rennie.
And we all know how valuable experience can be when it comes to negotiating the unique challenge of a World Cup.
“There's people out here thinking that he's past it, but he's in an environment here where we really value his experience,” Rennie said post-match. “He's a true professional.
“He’s been excellent, and I’m really rapt for him. He's just an important part of this group.”
The plague of ill-discipline continues
In what’s been a carryover from the Razor regime, the plague of penalties and yellow cards continues to hang like a momentum-stifling dark cloud over the All Blacks.
New Zealand were shown another pair of yellow cards, negating their fast start and offering Scotland a chance to work their way back into the contest.
They accepted that invite with pleasure, as hooker scored two of his hat-trick of tries while the All Blacks were a man short, allowing the hosts to take a slightly flattering three-point deficit into halftime.
Wallace Sititi was the first to be handed his marching orders, with Peter Lakai following in quick succession as the scapegoat for a streak of five consecutive penalties against the New Zealanders.
You could argue they were fortunate to escape with conceding a third. Although he forced to depart for an HIA with little over 10 minutes left in that match anyway, the attempted tackle by Jordie Barrett was the kind of head vs head that has been widely punished with a yellow.
The severity with which rugby is adjudicated at Test level means we’re becoming desensitised to cards. You almost expect at least one these days.
But that makes them no less impactful, and the fact that many have been conceded while scrambling defensively could be indicative of some wider issue at that end.
The trauma of that infamous red back in 2023 should be warning enough. Get it slightly wrong, and you may pay the ultimate price.
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