NZ gets out of jail after rare call
IN a captivating contest, in front of a 53,245 crowd at a heaving Marvel Stadium, the All Blacks were saved from the clutches of defeat by a rarely, if ever, seen call from French referee Mathieu Raynal, who awarded a matchturning infringement for Bernard Foley taking too long to kick the ball from a penalty.
In one of the most dramatic finishes test rugby has witnessed, the Wallabies somehow surged back from 3113 down in the second half to score three tries and stand on the brink of an unthinkable upset triumph.
Wallabies halfback Nic White hit a longrange penalty in the 77th minute to put the Wallabies in front for the first time, only for the All Blacks to win their own penalty and kick for the corner.
Sam Whitelock turned down the shot at goal and chance to draw the match in favour of kicking for the corner.
The Wallabies repelled the All Blacks maul attempt, winning a penalty which Raynal then deemed Foley took too long to kick into touch.
From that free kick, the All Blacks shifted the ball from the scrum to bash away at the Wallabies line before Richie Mo’unga and Will Jordan combined to put Jordie Barrett in at the corner for the matchwinning try well into added time.
The contrasting emotions were stark as the Wallabies immediately sank to the grass in agony and the All Blacks wildly celebrated. Relief will soon be front of mind, though.
The All Blacks ultimately extended their stranglehold of the Bledisloe Cup to a 20th straight year but they should consider themselves very fortunate after a dramafilled match that could easily have slipped from their grasp.
Four yellow cards, wild momentum swings and a long injury list does not tell half the
The scores
tale. While the All Blacks record their first successive victories of the season, this was another decidedly patchy performance that leaves many lingering questions before the return match with the Wallabies at Eden Park next week.
As it is, the All Blacks have levelled their season ledger at four wins and four losses.
This victory, however unconvincing, will strengthen their
Rugby claims.
A secondhalf attacking blitz in which the All Blacks ran in three tries — to Samisoni Taukei’aho, Mo’unga and Jordan — propelled Ian Foster’s men from a 1010 halftime deadlock.
That brilliance was lived, though.
In between stunning tries and lengthofthefield breakouts, the All Blacks produced moments of soft defence, unconvincing breakdown work and a lack of composure on attack to blow several tries while savouring a numerical advantage.
Following their breakout just after half time, while the Wallabies had two men in the bin, the All Blacks blew the margin out to lead by 18 points.
At that point it should have been shut the gate, crack the beers, lock away the coveted
Championship title shortcup. Instead of closing out the test they immediately invited the Wallabies back.
Andrew Kellaway’s double — his first from a suspect forward pass — sparked the Wallabies’ belief and they were good enough to carry that on.
Mo’unga nailed a penalty to give the All Blacks a sevenpoint lead, only for former Crusaders loose forward Samu to score in the corner and Foley to step up and level the scores.
White’s penalty could easily have handed the Wallabies a chance to snatch the Bledisloe but the rest, as they say, is history.
The Wallabies, after making eight starting changes following their dispiriting loss to the Springboks, deserve huge credit for pushing the All Blacks to the brink. They were down and out, and had no right to be close at the death.
The All Blacks had to overcome losing David Havili and captain Sam Cane to head knocks; Dalton Papalii to the bin, and Quinn Tupaea to a possibly seasonending knee injury, all in the first half.
Tupaea’s absence forced the All Blacks into a major backline reshuffle. Beauden Barrett came off the bench into fullback and Jordie Barrett shifted to become the third second five of the night.
With Tom Banks also carded for a professional foul following a stunning 60m Caleb Clarke bust, the Wallabies were reduced to 13 men. And, yet, the All Blacks could not maintain their attacking composure as they butchered two tryscoring chances with their twoman advantage. —