Barrett: No shutting up shop Hansen has sympathy for Pumas
Trust what you see and execute.
There are any number of things that characterise Beauden Barrett’s football. But the nuts and bolts of it revolve around instinct and belief.
That instinct is bolstered by a thorough preparation so that, when Barrett sees something on the paddock, he’s able to recognise exactly what it is.
The belief part is two-fold: he backs himself to counter whatever the opposition present to him, but he also trusts his team-mates to see the right pictures and communicate them back to him.
The All Blacks have played six tests this year. They played 80 good minutes against Samoa and 80 more in the first test of the British and Irish Lions series.
But you could argue that 40 good minutes in Sydney back on August 19 is all they’ve been able to muster since.
Things have been a bit helterskelter, a bit scrappy. There have been errors, maybe even a touch of panic.
In the same situation many of us would be tempted to take a deep breath and slow the whole thing down.
Let’s get things under control and consolidate and look to accumulate points through more methodical means.
But, for someone like Barrett, that would mean succumbing to doubt and allowing his mind to become cluttered.
In a practical sense, Argentina are tonight’s opponents at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth. In reality, the All Blacks will be fighting a more internal battle.
New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster said this week that errors on attack had been gifting the opposition points. The All Blacks have conceded a combined total of 63 in their last two outings, which is a few.
Just not enough to change the way Barrett runs things.
‘‘It’s just about nailing our key roles in the moment, our skill execution. We weren’t as accurate as we needed to be early in the sec- ond test against Barrett said.
‘‘We can’t also go into a hole with our attacking game when we make two defensive errors. Australia,’’
‘‘It’s about expressing ourselves and identifying that on the field and not having to shut up shop.
‘‘So we’re encouraged to keep playing footy and identify what is exactly going wrong.’’
Things can be pretty prescriptive in some sports. These All Blacks are given tools and information to help them succeed but, ultimately, they’re the ones that have to recognise things and call the rights shots and execute accurately.
Saturday’s forecast, which includes a chance of thunderstorms, won’t be hugely conducive to the kind of rugby Barrett sets out to play.
All the same, you could expect New Zealand to put 50 points on the Argentinians.
That might seem like a lot, but South Africa have managed 37 and 41 in recent weeks.
For varying reasons, plenty of All Blacks, such as Damian McKenzie, Sonny Bill Williams, Nehe Milner-Skudder, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea, Vaea Fifita and Nepo Laulala, have things to prove in this game.
That alone should ensure the Pumas are not taken lightly or that standards dip below what would be expected against truly elite opposition. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has been making excuses for Argentina ahead of their Rugby Championship clash in New Plymouth tonight.
In theory, the Pumas are an elite international side. They were third at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and fourth in 2015, and their admission to Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship was only meant to increase their stature on the global stage.
But the Buenos Aires-based Jaguares have barely fired a shot in Super Rugby and Los Pumas aren’t proving too potent at the test match level.
Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade would probably quite like Hansen’s respect, but for now he’s more likely to have his sympathies.
‘‘They’re in a difficult situation,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘They’ve gone from being a team that was spread all around the world, which has its ups and downs, to a team that were brought together and put into the Super Rugby competition
‘‘Now they play four or five home games every year and then their next closest game is New Zealand, which I think is 15 hours’ flight time.
‘‘It’s an horrific schedule they’ve got [and] I think that takes a lot out of them. I certainly wouldn’t want to be doing it, but it is what it is for them.
‘‘And playing together all year round: Is it fresh? I don’t know, you’d have to ask them that. I know they’ve got different coaches, so that make some freshness about it.’’
Some might wonder what business this is of Hansen’s. But he was asked to give an opinion on Argentine rugby and did so.
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