Bledisloe Cup rugby: First-five Richie Mo'unga reveals why All Blacks didn't take drop goal in dying seconds against Wallabies

Ardie Savea and the All Blacks after the final whistle at Sky Stadium. Photo / Photosport

Those frantic, final moments of Bledisloe I in Wellington will be chewed over more than a week-old piece of gum that's long lost its flavour. Should the All Blacks - and Wallabies, for that matter - have nailed a dropped goal? Can Dave Rennie do it again and this time inspire the Wallabies to their first win at Eden Park since 1986?

All will be revealed this Sunday in the return match, before the reignited Bledisloe series departs for two further tests in Australia.

One day after the engrossing 16-all draw, the failure to take a drop goal attempt remained the hot topic as All Blacks coach Ian Foster fronted to digest his first test at the helm, describing the feeling in camp as flat, with a resolve to put the underwhelming performance right this week.

"It's a game we've got to go in, front up, and show we've learnt some lessons," Foster said.

"We're in a very unique situation now. We're going to play the same team four times in a row. I'm not sure when we ever did that, so whoever is going to adapt and learn the most will go well."

All Blacks coach Ian Foster says his team should have attempted the snap kick. Photo / Photosport

For all the focus on taking a snap from the pocket the reality is the All Blacks, inches out from the Wallabies line, should have kept ploughing up the guts with their big men. Karl Tu'inukuafe, among others, takes some stopping that close.

Instead, in the heat of battle, as All Blacks captain Sam Cane pointed back at Richie Mo'unga, Jordie Barrett called for the ball with George Bridge unmarked on the outside.

With TJ Perenara taking a dig one phase earlier, rookie No 8 Hoskins Sotutu found himself at the base. His wayward pass forced Barrett to dive and the rest, as they say, is history.

Foster admitted there were conflicting views about drop goals in the All Blacks coaching box but revealed his preference was for the option to be taken.

"If you isolate it down to our moment, you've got Jordie screaming for the ball on one side because there was a clear opportunity, but perhaps what he didn't see was we had forwards at halfback, we didn't have a nine to give him a crisp pass, so was it the best option? Probably not," Foster said.

"Did we have a chance to chill that down and keep doing what we were doing and get Richie and Jordie in behind? Yes we did. We've got to learn from that.

"To be honest, in the first week, no, we haven't practised that. Do we normally as we build through a campaign? The answer is probably yes.

"When you go into your first test you can't cover everything and you've got to rely on your key decision makers. We didn't quite get it right and we ended splitting the pie in half.

"In hindsight the decision would have been to slow that down a little bit because we were right under the goal posts half a metre out. We had a chance to get more forwards on their feet, regroup, and then make the decision. We had some strong carries and I would've been quite happy with a ball in hand approach with the 10 or 15 sitting in behind and if they saw the moment, then take it."

First-five Richie Mo'unga has revealed why the the All Blacks decided not to attempt a drop goal in the dying seconds of Bledisloe I. Photo / Photosport

Kickers may spend more time in training this week taking snaps under pressure, but expect the All Blacks to put more onus on improving their sloppy kickoff receptions, their work in the backfield, gaining more ball and imposing themselves with physically-dominant carries to give their backline greater room to breathe.

The All Blacks will, however, take heart from the pressure they applied at scrums and lineouts, along with their defensive work; which largely stayed strong despite making 100 more tackles than the Wallabies - though Nic White's ability to pick them apart around the fringes remains a major concern.

As for executing drop goals, Mo'unga and his fellow playmakers may have a rethink next time a deadlock needs breaking.

"There were a couple of times I dropped in the pocket but momentum had us and we looked likely to score, so a dropped kick wasn't in the question because we were going forward," Mo'unga said.

"Had Jordie got the pass away we wouldn't be talking about dropped kicks but it definitely was in my mind. I felt like we were going forward and could've scored.

"I was in position to take one but the call was for our forwards to pick through the middle. Could I have had a better voice? Maybe. When you're in [a situation] like that it's a bit hectic and everyone wants the ball. There were obviously opportunities everywhere."