Is the All Blacks’ Rain Man
annihilate the Hurricanes forwards. How the Canes pack must have hated to hear and read that repeated nonsense.
I scored each 10-minute section of the match according to possession, turnover, forward momentum and defence and it was remarkably even.
No, Mo’unga outplayed Barrett because he made a number of the fundamentally correct tactical choices. The first and most important was where Mo’unga stood. Such a filthy night made passing very difficult, although the coating on the modern rugby ball makes it much easier than in the past.
The pass is perhaps not the strength of either Bryn Hall or TJ Perenara. But Mo’unga stood relatively short most of the time.
He provided Hall with an easy target and so Hall was able to hit his 10 with regularity. Barrett stood on the horizon, as if it were a sunny summer’s day on Scorching Bay.
It was crazy. When Perenara’s pass is good, it can open up the field. But he is not Aaron Smith or Will Genia. Perenara’s talents are more nuggety. And so there were too many costly passes that went astray.
Another oddity about Barrett’s direction of play, or lack of it, were the number of people who went in at first receiver.
On filthy nights like these, I like my No 9 and 10 to take charge. You need strong leadership. You need players who will drive the team around the pitch.
Yet the Canes carried on like a bunch of grans on a night out at the bingo. Everyone put their hand up.
Perenara, who has not played much football in recent weeks, didn’t know if he was coming or going. It was an abnegation of responsibility by Barrett.
Even in this age of all-singing, alldancing 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 management was glorious to watch. So it was frustrating to hear the after-game pundits spew up the usual semolina.
Steve Bates said it probably wasn’t the game we were all looking for. He told us we were looking for a high-scoring open game. Is that what you were looking for, Crusaders?
Joe Wheeler, who did bring a cheerful wit to proceedings, called the game ‘‘a little bit boring’’ and Huriana ManuelCarpenter endorsed that by calling it ‘‘a boring game.’’
Personally I found those comments boring. Scoreline tension is the reason why football, with its frequent scores of 1-0, is the most popular game in the world.
I don’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.