All Blacks may need alternative second-in-command
OPINION: Who knew such a grim comedy awaited when the All Blacks trotted out of their sanctuary inside Stade de France for the second half of their shift yesterday?
Any side that emerges from the tunnel and looks at a scoreboard that reads 31-5 in their favour against the French might have reason to feel smug. Over-confident, possibly.
Let’s give the All Blacks the benefit of the doubt and say they were neither. So what happened in Paris?
In that first half Les Bleus delivered little in terms of being deadly with their strike plays, or stressing the New Zealanders with their counterattacks and had tighthead prop Rabah Slimani yellow carded.
Even with the All Blacks’ short kicking game being far from accurate, Sonny Bill Williams finally got a dividend when he slid through a ball for midfielder partner Ryan Crotty to pounce upon for one of the visitors’ four tries in that first spell.
Then came the second half. It was horrible to watch. Williams found a way to be painted as the villain and when he inexplicably punched a crosskick out of the field of play, without trying to play the ball.
In rugby league that was deemed acceptable. Jump the fence to rugby and it is a massive no-no. The yellow card was fair. The penalty try awarded by referee Angus Gardner was dubious.
Soon after All Blacks captain Kieran Read left the field with a groin strain, resulting in Sam Cane shifting to No 8 to allow Matt Todd to play in his specialist role at openside flanker.
The skipper’s job was transferred to first five-eighth Beauden Barrett, who had led the side to their patchy win over the Barbarians in London a week earlier.
Barrett got the job ahead of Sam Cane, who has previously led the side in tests – his first being against Namibia in the World Cup pool match in London in 2015 – and Sam Whitelock. Whitelock, who this year led the Crusaders to their first Super Rugby title since 2008, is considered an astute operator who demands excellence through his own actions.
At the moment that Read left the park, there was a momentum shift in the game. The sight of Williams nervously watching the clock from the sideline lifted into an excitable state which, when combined with their desire to move the ball, proved to be bad news if you were the lot in the black and white jerseys.
Penalties kicked on either side of the penalty try closed the gap to 13 points and if wing Teddy Thomas hadn’t cut the touch line as he dived for a try, the deficit could have been reduced to eight with the conversion to come.
What followed was a muddled, messy performance by the New Zealanders. Barrett, already with enough on his plate in the greasy conditions, was unable to urge his team to regain their composure and control.
If Read’s injury forces him to skip the next test against Scotland in Edinburgh, a shift in leadership could be required. Giving Barrett the chance to clear his head and focus on calling the plays and directing the backline should appeal to the All Blacks selectors.
Finding a replacement shouldn’t be difficult. Cane or Whitelock? Take your pick.