Rugby: The crazy world of Beauden Barrett's boot

All Blacks 1st-five Beauden Barrett. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Suddenly there is silence on the Beauden Barrett can't kick front. And yet there is also silence on the Beauden Barrett can kick front.

The issue everyone seemingly want to talk about in the wake of the Lions series is no longer the topic du jour. And yet it should be.

If it was Barrett's inaccuracy off the tee that cost the All Blacks in tests two and three of the Lions series, then it was his accuracy that won the day in Dunedin last week.

It was entirely fitting that he should be the man to score the winning try. History will mark him as the man who landed the killer blow and history would be right - except it was the five killer blows he landed earlier with his boot that effectively secured the Bledisloe Cup for the All Blacks.

Barrett was successful with all five conversions in Dunedin, returning a perfect 100 per cent. That compared with Australia's Bernard Foley who nailed just two of his five conversions and also missed a penalty.

The maths is pretty simple - if Foley had kicked as well as Barrett the Wallabies would have won. Funny, though, that no one seems to be making much noise about that. But then again, isn't that a goal-kicker's lot?

And it isn't that, more particularly, Barrett's lot?

After two weeks of the Rugby Championship, he has been the most accurate kicker. He's had 13 shots at goal and missed just one.

He's sitting on a 92 per cent success ratio, which is better than the 87 per cent posted by South Africa's Elton Jantjies who has missed two from 15.

It's considerably better than Foley's 67 per cent return. He was 100 per cent in the first Bledisloe Cup test but landed just 33 per cent in Dunedin.

The Pumas have split their kicking between three players and none had more than three attempts at goal, ruling them out as valid comparisons.

Perhaps it's a uniquely Kiwi-thing that goal-kickers are never lauded, only visible when they have an off day. That doesn't quite stack up, though, because Daniel Carter never had so many problems earning recognition for his goal kicking.

He arrived in test football with a reputation as an outstanding goal kicker and it stayed with him throughout his career. The perception of Carter was always one of an ice-cool customer and good, bad or indifferent, no one ever doubted him or failed to credit him on the many occasions he nailed the crucial kicks.

But with Barrett it's different. There's a perception that goal kicking is his flaw, maybe his only one, but a significant failing nonetheless.

Because of that, it seems there is a readiness and willingness to attribute blame on the bad nights but be strangely oblivious on the good.

This may be Barrett's fate longer term. Perceptions are hard to budge. He's had two great nights goal kicking since the Lions series and no one noticed.

He could probably keep banging them over in the Rugby Championship to a resounding silence, miss a few in the third Bledisloe and hear all about it.

It won't bother him but it is odd.