Foster: ABs overkicked
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has hinted he wasn’t entirely happy with some of the kicking against the Pumas but declared himself pleased with the overall strategy in the 38-0 victory on Saturday.
A dominant scrum and lineout, coupled with an aggressive defensive line, produced many of the All Blacks’ points – including two late tries to Will Jordan from Pumas’ mistakes.
But the sight of Aaron Smith wincing as a Richie Mo’unga crossfield kick sailed over the head of wing Caleb Clarke summed up the frustrations of some fans, who wondered if a ball-in-hand approach would have been better at times.
After the game, Foster revealed that the All Blacks’ ‘‘respect’’ for the Pumas defence had shaped the strategy.
‘‘I think we are against Argentina,’’ said Foster when asked if the All Blacks were a better side when they kicked more.
‘‘And in some ways we may have overkicked a couple of times, in the first half particularly.
‘‘But it’s a matter of showing respect to what the opposition is doing.
‘‘The key to attack is that you can really do what they allow you to do.
‘‘Two weeks ago we went in there and tried to do what we
wanted to do, and they were good enough to stop that.’’
Statistics from the test showed that the All Blacks kicked from hand 28 times, which isn’t particularly high given that they dominated possession.
The All Blacks also brought variety to their kicking, with Mo’unga, Beauden Barrett and Jordie Barrett all playing prominent roles, while even Ardie Savea chipped ahead after one second half charge from the base of the scrum.
There were subtle kicks over the top, several crossfield kicks to wings Jordie Barrett and Clarke, and massive up-and-unders straight out of Ireland’s playbook on a late afternoon kickoff in Dublin in November.
Foster said the options helped to keep Argentina off balance and opened up space elsewhere.
‘‘We made better decisions so all of a sudden the ball carrying gets a bit easier, the cleaning, and we start to see the space for our skill work,’’ he said.
‘‘I think it just changed the picture. I’m assuming they knew it was coming but it gave us a better balance, no doubt about that.’’
Still, there were enough imperfections in the kicking to give the All Blacks management something to ponder over the summer break.
At times, the All Blacks looked to have the Pumas on the rack and but still went to the boot, suggesting the game drivers were too wedded to the pre-game plans rather than playing what was in front of them.
Getting that difficult balance right will be required of Mio’unga and Barrett in coming years, while an argument could also be made that this tour has kept the door ajar for other No 10s who want to break into the squad.
However, there was no such uncertainty about the All Blacks’ scrum work.
With Nepo Laulala and Joe Moody presenting straight backs and huge leg drive, the All Blacks punished the Pumas almost from start to finish, and assistant coach John Plumtree revealed afterwards that they had targeted the Argentine set-piece.
‘‘We put a lot of pressure on their scrum,’’ Plumtree said. ‘‘It was obviously a big part of our plan this week.
‘‘Hats off to ‘Feeky’ [scrum coach Greg Feek]. He’s worked real hard with the front-rowers and came out with a really good plan.
‘‘And obviously our [lineout] drive has been quite consistent in terms of how it’s worked in the last five or six weeks, so it was good to see the boys apply pressure through the set-piece.’’
The win means the All Blacks have all but wrapped up the TriNations but they aren’t hanging around in Australia.
They were due to fly home on Sunday and go through their quarantine requirements before finally clocking off after a draining year.