Jordie Barrett of the All Blacks in action against the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
Jordie Barrett of the All Blacks in action against the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Right, well that's settled, at least. On a night when the All Blacks as a group failed to cope with the Springboks' set piece excellence, breakdown superiority, defensive pressure, and, underpinning it all, hunger, Jordie Barrett once again shone brightest to announce himself as New Zealand's best fullback.
Howthe Boks ambushed the All Blacks in the second half on the Gold Coast when they had used pretty much exactly those strategies in Townsville a week earlier, when Ian Foster's men were lucky to escape with a win, and indeed the first half at Robina Stadium, will presumably be up for discussion this week as the brains trust examine failures of execution and strategy.
But their first-choice No 15 for the big tests won't be. And it's not only Barrett's composure under the high ball relative to the other All Blacks outside backs, an area in which they will likely also be kept busy by Wales, Ireland and France starting in Cardiff on October 31 if those nations have been watching recent events Downunder.
It's also his composure in front of goal in the final minutes of two of the tightest tests the All Blacks have played in years, when he had the winning or the losing of the games literally at his feet.
On Saturday, Barrett was flawless in those final, nerve-shredding five minutes when he twice kicked the All Blacks in front, the final time with less than two minutes remaining, an advantage New Zealand blew when trying to run down the clock, only for referee Matthew Carley to penalise Asafo Aumua for an offence (sealing off the breakdown), the type of which went unnoticed by Carley for the previous 100 or so rucks.
Incidentally, had the All Blacks been given that time again, and given Carley's inconsistent breakdown rulings over those critical five minutes (for and against both teams), they may have done things differently. A week earlier the Boks ruined their chance of a dramatic late victory when they kicked the ball away aimlessly and gave up a breakdown penalty when trying to defend a slim lead, but it's difficult to imagine how, if the tables were turned, the Boks could have won at Robina Stadium if given the ball near their own try-line with the seconds ticking down.
Jordie Barrett was almost the hero for the second straight week against the Springboks. Photosport
It takes mental and physical strength to deliver against a team as relentless and ruthless and South Africa, and Jordie Barrett clearly has those qualities, along with size, and the latter is one obvious thing he has over his fullback rival Damian McKenzie, who may find even his place on the bench threatened by the return of Richie Mo'unga, who will presumably slot back into No 10, with Beauden resuming an impact role.
The discussion about the All Blacks' best goalkicker is also presumably over; Jordie kicked five out of five a week earlier in North Queensland and five out of seven on the Gold Coast (he missed the sideline conversions for tries by Sevu Reece and Brad Weber). He's deadly from long range or anywhere near the middle of the pitch and that's a non-negotiable at this level.
No one else in the black jersey stood as tall as Jordie over this past fortnight. He was one of the All Blacks' few consistent threats with the ball on Saturday and he was a genuine menace without it when contesting his brother's short kick-offs. It was a shame, from an All Blacks perspective, that they couldn't get the ball to him more on attack and, from a glass half-full perspective, that's an indictment on his development this year.
Finally, to Jacobus, Kobus, Rodney, and all of those eloquent Boks fans who gave such colourful feedback on a column I wrote about their side appearing "unfit, unskilled and demoralised" following their 30-17, four-tries-to-one defeat to the Wallabies, their second on the bounce, a fortnight ago, thanks for taking the time!
As big fans of my work, I know you would have read the entire piece, including a reference to their world-class operators Duane Vermuelen, Eben Etzebeth, Damian de Allende and skipper Siya Kolisi, rather than merely the headline, but regardless, your boys thoroughly deserved the victory on the Gold Coast.
Your team have the tactics and personnel to win big tests – big, one-off efforts, like World Cup finals, for instance. But lingering doubts remain about whether they can string such performances across three sudden death tests.
The bottom line is the Boks left Australia with a 1-3 record and came third in the Rugby Championship having not played anywhere near their potential.
