Milestone man has shot at ‘sloppy’ ABs
The All Blacks would have enjoyed their win over Samoa on Friday night, with Beauden Barrett’s milestone of 50 tests also celebrated — but triumphant they were not.
Barrett, who had the honour of celebrating his half century of tests while little brother Jordie played his first, with Scott also coming on in the second half, spoke afterwards of his pride at his and his brothers’ achievements but insisted the All Blacks were “sloppy” at times and that they must improve significantly before the first test against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday.
The first-five, who stamped his class on the match with two tries, several assists, and success with seven out of eight conversions, was also no doubt reluctant to give the visiting media pack a headline ahead of the much-anticipated clash against the Lions at Eden Park, but he was relatively downbeat after the 78-0 victory.
Asked what the All Blacks could improve following the 12-try thrashing, Beauden’s answer was simple.
“Everything. It’s only our first hitout so we can get better in every part of the game.
“At times [we were impressive with and without the ball]. It’s only a start. I think we can certainly get better in all areas of our game on defence and on attack and that’s exciting. It’s a different beast around the corner and we have to get better.”
Asked about the All Blacks’ lethal finishing from open play, but also from the set piece, Barrett would offer only: “It is great to see those moves you prepare for come off. It’s about doing the basics well and playing what’s in front of you. I don’t think we were as clinical as we need to be. It’s only a start and we can certainly get better.”
Barrett had praise for the midfield combination of Sonny Bill Williams and Anton Lienert-Brown, who performed well despite not having played a test together.
“I thought they complement each other well. It’s a start for them, I’m sure they want to improve together as a combination,” Barrett said.
There will be satisfaction that there weren’t too many signs of rust but a knowledge, too, that the Lions will offer many different challenges, especially up front and on defence, than Samoa did.
Barrett knows he will have large men wearing red jerseys in his face when he has the ball and when he hasn’t.
“It’s obvious they’re bringing a bit of line speed and teams have to adapt. Typically, it’s a different style of attack to what we’re used to. It works for them,” he said.
“I enjoy a challenge . . . that’s just one part of it.”
He did allow a smile when asked about his brothers, however.
“Very special,” he said in reference to playing alongside them. “Everyone from our immediate family made the trip up [to Auckland from Taranaki] so I was pretty happy to see them afterwards. I’m a proud big brother, so hopefully we can play many more [tests].”
And there was a hint of a wild side when asked about how he would celebrate; a beer, perhaps, and maybe a piece of chocolate. But given the discipline with which he conducted himself on and off the field, one suspects it wouldn’t be much of either.
“I might have a beer. I might have to have a bit of chocolate later or something. I’m pretty proud to reach the 50. It just seems like yesterday that I played my first. Now I’ve got two brothers in the squad. It’s unreal. I’m excited about the few weeks we’ve got ahead.”