Jordie Barrett makes a charge during the Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies. Photo / Getty
Jordie Barrett makes a charge during the Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies. Photo / Getty
OPINION:
Now that Jordie Barrett has played such a strong hand at second-five and David Havili has slowly grown this season in the same role, cue the usual cliché about their respective abilities being a nice problem for the All Blacks to have.
But choice can often be a burdenrather than a luxury – a means to befuddle the thinking of a coach and see them toss and turn between the two options, never quite committing to one, or secretly wishing they had picked the other.
Such a scenario now looms with the make-up of the All Blacks midfield because Havili, who has been the first choice No 12 all year, has played, in the last few tests in which he has appeared, with greater authority and influence.
His combination with Rieko Ioane is improving and because so much time has been invested in it, there will be a strong temptation to restore Havili to No 12 once he is again fit to play following a head knock.
But the thing about the All Blacks is that they are searching for great and while Havili has played well in patches, Barrett, in his one performance in the role, looked the better option.
Jordie Barrett makes a charge during the Bledisloe Cup win over the Wallabies. Photo / Getty
There was a simplicity and clarity to his game that enabled Barrett to produce a direct and powerful running performance, the likes of which the All Blacks haven't seen since Ma'a Nonu was wrecking defences in 2015.
As All Blacks coach Ian Foster noted: "I am delighted with Davie's progress this campaign and I am delighted with what Jordie gave us today.
"I thought he had a phenomenal game. He was very physical, with the ball, without the ball, he worked hard he put some kicks in so he should be really proud of that effort."
Barrett gave the All Blacks a destructive force in the middle of the field both with and without the ball and he proved once again that for all that rugby seems to be complex, it really does come down to whichever team can dominate the gain line and more effectively get over it.
And he was such a big physical presence because that's precisely what he set out to be. He knew what would be coming, and suspected as the new boy in the role, the Wallabies would test him out, target him by sending their ball runners his way.
"I took that personally this week," he said. "And I knew that is where traffic was going to come. They have some big ball carriers particularly off set-piece and if they can get some ascendancy and gain line then it just bleeds into the rest of their game so I knew that if we knocked it on the head there then we could bring their game to a bit of a halt.
"Rugby hasn't changed and if you can get some gain line off set-piece and nullify it on the other side of the ball then it goes a long way to winning a match," he said.
"They have got some outstanding ball carriers…Valentini, Pete Samu and some real good outside backs and midfielders with fast feet. So if we can stop them at the gain line, it just helps the rest of the boys."
The directness and robustness of Barrett's game is the trump card, the reason he appeals more than Havili as the long-term option at No 12.
Havili is more of a tactical operator, clever in his angles of attack and capable of using a broad skill-set to offer creative touches.
Perhaps it's an indictment on the nature of the game, but someone hammering hard up the middle of the field as Barrett so effectively did, feels like the better fit for how the All Blacks are trying to play, especially when he comes with a similar ability to kick and distribute.
The power of Barrett's boot was an added bonus, and early in the first half, he made men of a certain age swoon with nostalgia when he cleared the ball with an old-fashioned spiral punt.
He carved off close to 50 metres with his clearing kick and then revealed that the spiral punt may become a regular part of his repertoire.
"It is something I have been working on for a little while now," he said.
"Particularly with the Adidas balls that we use in New Zealand, David Hill and Fozzie have been encouraging me to use a spiral and I have been practising it plenty and if I have time on the ball I feel like I can peel off an extra 10-15 metres, I was lucky to get a couple away tonight."
