Lessons gained from scratchy win
Steve Hansen is a carrot and stick type guy. He’ll condemn or he’ll cuddle, depending on the circumstances and the wider needs of his All Blacks.
After a rdisjointed effort in a 31-22 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham yesterday, Hansen was very much taking the glasshalf-full view of his mostly secondstring lineup’s challenges. They had trailed 17-10 at halftime, and only broke the game open with a three-try burst in seven minutes midway through the second spell.
Few, if any, of the backup brigade would have advanced their test claims any, though Waisake Naholo (the likely right wing starter in Paris next weekend) was one of the best on show according to assistant coach Ian Foster, and Ardie Savea made the most of his extended run as a starter at No 7.
Hansen, though, was not about to condemn a group that had no history as a team, and included a high number of players who hadn’t had a lot of recent rugby. And, in the end, they did figure out a solution to the hole the dug for themselves.
‘‘It was not too bad. We got some good lessons out of it,’’ said Hansen afterwards. ‘‘There will be some good comparisons between
"It was a festival game and like the rest of us you fall into the trap of getting caught in it."
Steve Hansen
the first and second halves. We were down 10-0 and a young side had to show some composure, and the new skipper showed a lot too.’’
Hansen felt his side, as well as referee Nigel Owens (more on that later) probably got caught up in the festive nature of the occasion, but he was happy that the adjustments eventually came.
‘‘That was the most pleasing thing about it. This year has been a lot like that with the talent we’ve got out. It’s a good learning year for us.’’
And as for new faces Matt Duffie (13 minutes, and zero touches), Tim Perry (25 minutes) and Asafo Aumua (13 minutes), who all came off the bench, Hansen said the benefits for them, as well as returnees such as Seta Tamanivalu and Jeffery ToomagaAllen, were more about the week, rather than the match.
‘‘It’s really not how much gametime they get in that first one, it’s about how they fit into the whole week, and the experience you get. It’s not normally our mode to throw them in that first week, but they coped particularly well.’’
Foster credited Ngani Laumape and his two wings with making the most of their opportunities too.
‘‘As the game unfolded, and we started to get a little bit of goforward ball, Ngani started to show himself pretty well. He’s strong near the goal-line, and it’s good to see him doing what he’s good at.’’
Foster said Naholo was one of the best All Blacks in the match and ‘‘did a whole lot of little things well’’. He produced two nice poppasses to set up tries and denied
the impressive Kwagga Smith a try with his covering speed.
His praise for Tamanivalu was amore considered. ‘‘Seta looked good with the ball, but he’s got to
learn how to get a little more engaged when they start shutting him off a bit in midfield.’’
When talk turned to some of the banter in the match, Hansen also
had a slight dig at Welsh referee Owens who was not his usual accurate self (his miss of Akker van der Merwe’s probable try when Beauden Barrett was casual
covering ball in goal probably cost the Baabaas any sniff of a comeback).
‘‘Most of the banter came from Nigel I reckon ... it would have
been good if he’d reffed this one,’’ said Hansen.
‘‘It was a festival game and like the rest of us you fall into the trap of getting caught in it. He did a good job, but there’s no doubt in my mind he wasn’t as focused as he would have been if it was a test match.’’ David Havili 5: A quiet 45 minutes, and he wasn’t the only one as the All Blacks fumbled and bumbled their way through the match. Nine metres with ball in hand says it all.
Waisake Naholo 8.5: Gave the final pass for both of the All Blacks’ firsthalf tries. His power was on show to setup Perenara’s five-pointer, when he somehow - with Richie Mo’unga draped all over him - stayed in touch and dished up an offload.
Anton Lienert-Brown 6.5: Made a couple of handling errors and had limited opportunities on attack. However, he defended well.
Ngani Laumape 8: New Zealand’s best back outside Naholo. Displayed raw power to bump off Richie Mo’unga and rumble over the line early in the second half. Looked likely throughout the match.
Seta Tamanivalu 7.5: No All Black had more metres than Tamanivalu (84) with ball in hand. Always threatening when given a chance.
Beauden Barrett 6.5: Not a memorable performance from the first-time captain. Lost the ball in contact, missed touch late in the first half and sent off a couple of aimless kicks. Switched to fullback early in the second half and struggled to get anything going.
TJ Perenara 6.5: A mixed bag. Scored the All Blacks’ opening try, just reward after a sniping run down the short-side, but threw a couple of intercept passes – one resulted in a George Bridge try – and his passing generally lacked accuracy.
Jerome Kaino 6.5: Replaced by Sam Cane five minutes into the second half. Made eight tackles with the No 8 jersey on his back. Certainly wasn’t vintage Kaino.
Ardie Savea 7: Always a nightmare for defenders to bring down. Made a team-high 18 tackles and his doubters would have been pleased to see him grab a first-half breakdown steal. However, Sam Cane need not worry about his starting job.
Vaea Fifita 7: Scored a try and provided one of the highlights of the game by bolting 50 odd metres early in the first half. However, his decision not to pass would have had coach Steve Hansen’s blood boiling.
Scott Barrett 7: Hit a couple of gaps and carried strongly. Came close to crashing over early in the second half.
Luke Romano 8: A busy outing from the battering ram. Finished with
34 metres on 13 carries. Also made 13 tackles in a rare start.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi 6.5: Made a stack of tackles (15) and was part of the starting front row which clearly had the opposition’s number.
Nathan Harris 6: Cashed in on a high-ball blunder to nab a try, and was 5/5 with his lineout throwing. Missed four tackles.
Kane Hames 6.5: A solid 54 minutes. Made seven tackles and held up well at scrum time.
RESERVES
Tim Perry 6: Got a taste of All Blacks rugby with 25 minutes off the bench.
Patrick Tuipulotu 6: Replaced Scott Barrett with 25 minutes to play.
Sam Cane 7: Replaced Kaino in the
45th minute and was rewarded with a try 10 minutes later, when he ploughed through three defenders.
Tawera Kerr-Barlow 7.5: Came on for Perenara in the 45th minute. His service for Sopoaga was smooth and his decision-making was sound. It was his towering box-kick which led to Harris’ try.
Lima Sopoaga 6.5: Got a brief run in the first half for Barrett (blood), before replacing Havili early in the second half. Inexplicably missed touch shortly after coming on.
NOT RATED
Matt Duffie (67th-minute sub) Asafo Aumua (67th-minute sub) Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (67th-minute sub). ROBERT VAN ROYEN