The All Blacks were apparently trapped in a time warp at Twickenham on Saturday, repeating all sorts of different mistakes from their near and almost forgotten past.
They were such an eclectic mix of physical brutality and mental fragility as to be unsure whether they are firmly on trackto win next year’s World Cup, or destined to gloriously and spectacularly implode long before they get anywhere near the final.
Right now, it’s probably about 50:50 which way they will go because however much they have developed in the art of collision warfare, they are so prone to drifting into a psychological wilderness where they seemingly lose themselves and the power of rational thought, that everyone they play will know that if they can stay in the fight — keep within 20 points — the game can be salvaged even from seemingly hopeless situations.
This All Blacks side doesn’t know how to kill its prey. Catch it, yes. Torture it, yes. But administer the mortal blow? Not yet and this is where history was most apparently repeating at Twickenham as the Wallabies managed a similarly dramatic comeback against the All Blacks in Melbourne this year.
The All Blacks led the Wallabies 31-13 in Bledisloe One with 20 minutes remaining and trailed 37-34 with three minutes to go — and escaped with the win, courtesy of referee Mathieu Raynal awarding the first and only scrum in history for time-wasting.
Raynal was of course the referee again at Twickenham, but these All Blacks collapses are in no way related to him.
What sparked the Twickenham tumble was Beauden Barrett’s yellow card — and this was yet another repeat of history, albeit not one with which many in the current team had direct involvement.
England’s Owen Farrell and Beauden Barrett of the All Blacks after the game. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks fullback Ben Smith was yellow carded in the 2015 World Cup final at Twickenham — and reduced to 14 men, the All Blacks conceded two tries which allowed the Wallabies to get within four points of them.
It transpired, that of all the scenarios the All Blacks had prepared for, not once had they considered the prospect of Smith being sin-binned for 10 minutes.
It’s not clear if the current All Blacks had specifically thought through in training what to do if they also lost their fullback to a yellow card, but like their predecessors, the loss of Barrett rattled them, and England were able to score two tries when he was off the field.
A yellow card shouldn’t be a composure-killer or a licence to lose the plot and yet that is what happened in both 2015 and 2022, leading All Blacks flanker Dalton Papali’i to note: “Our downfall is letting teams back in the game with our discipline.
“We have identified that and we have moments where we fall asleep for a little bit and teams can really come get us.”
The third and perhaps most staggering way that history repeated, was in the decision-making and execution of a TJ Perenara kick.
In 2018, with the All Blacks leading 16-15 against England at Twickenham with four minutes to go, Perenara had a box kick inside his own territory charged down by Courtney Lawes.
Sam Underhill picked up the loose ball and scored, only for the try to be ruled out as Lawes was deemed to be offside.
In 2022, Perenara, after receiving a call from Ardie Savea, dinked the ball over a defensive ruck in the All Blacks 22.
With a few minutes left, it was a wildly ambitious call, made riskier still by the fact Savea overran Perenara, got in front of the kick and so had to pull out of the chase.
England regathered and ultimately scored from that possession and while head coach Ian Foster said he was comfortable with the decision — arguing that it was a better option than trying to pick and drive around the ruck for the last two minutes — the choice wasn’t binary.
Perenara could have kicked for touch — giving a lineout away would not have been disastrous as they eat up the clock, and would have allowed the All Blacks to set their defence, albeit with 14 men.
Alternatively, he could have kicked long and again, at least that would have forced England to have attacked from deep.
The point being, the All Blacks picked a high-risk option in what they collectively should have realised was a low-risk zone.
And the fact they can’t seem to keep their heads in the game, creates a certain nervousness about the possibility of yet one more piece of history repeating itself.
The last time the World Cup was in France, the All Blacks were physically robust, but crashed out in the quarter-final because they couldn’t keep their heads in the game.
