Is the Rain Man
weeks, didn’t know if he was coming or going. It was an abnegation of responsibility by Barrett.
Even in this age of allsinging, all-dancing rugby, certain truisms remain on wet nights. You have to turn the opposition. Mistakes will be made. It is the job of the first-five to persuade the other lot to make more of them.
Apart from a couple of shockers in the second half, which eventually persuaded the coaches to bring on Ihaia West to play first-five, Barrett did not kick too badly. He was on occasion let down by the chase, an area in which the Canes missed Matt Proctor. But Barrett still did not kick as well as Mo’unga.
The Crusaders 10 knew when to gamble. His extraordinary penalty to the corner from his own 10-metre line set up the Crusaders’ try in the first half. It was a risk and reward kick. Mo’unga pushed the limits, because the potential reward was so high. He is the best punter in the world at finding the five-metre line for his forwards.
This type of game
Idon’t want to watch the same variation on the same game plan week after week. I don’t want to watch 10 tries in every game. I like watching the All Blacks and the Lions stretch the fabric of rugby in a Wellington monsoon.
I like watching Mo’unga pull Nehe Milner-Skudder up the field by holding onto the ball, then suddenly harpoon a kick to the corner and make MilnerSkudder turn with the hopeless realisation he is just too late. When asked if he wanted Christchurch to have a stadium with a roof, Mo’unga cheerfully replied that they would just keep the sprinklers on. The Crusaders love playing rugby in the rain.
For one thing, it stresses the skills. You find out those guys who have great hands, and the others who are not so much. Mo’unga’s passing was spot-on throughout, even when Jordie Barrett really rushed him once inside his 22. He made the time for the man alongside him.
The talent that sets Beauden Barrett apart lies in that extraordinary turn of speed and his ability under the high ball. But his passing was again exposed by the difficult conditions. Too many slipped from his grasp. Too many slipped from the grasp of the receiver. Barrett takes time away from the opposition with his pace. He does not make time for his team-mates with his pass.
Barrett v Mo’unga. In the wet it really is a no contest.