Cruden: We wanted extra time
Aaron Cruden knows all about life not being fair. And he got another decent dose of that at Eden Park on Saturday night.
Cruden, who made his 50th and final test appearance in the All Blacks’ 15-all with the British and Irish Lions on Saturday night, a match marred by referee Romain Poite’s controversial decision to not award a penalty in the 78th minute, will join French club Montpellier after fulfilling his obligations with the Chiefs.
A cancer survivor, Cruden was also forced to miss the 2015 World Cup because of a serious knee injury and also limped out of the 2011 final because he had hyperextended a knee.
So when he took the field in the 73rd minute of the match at Eden Park, with the All Blacks leading 15-12, he might have felt he was owed a fairytale finish to cap off his international career.
‘‘That’s sport, it doesn’t always pan out the way out the way you want it to,’’ shrugged a philosophical Cruden as he stood in his All Blacks No 1s for the last time and reflected on the moment Poite lost his bottle.
Immediately after Poite blasted the final whistle, the players from both teams, and the spectators in the crammed stadium, glanced at each other with near disbelief.
After all the tension and anxiety they had experienced during the previous 80 minutes of action they had to accept the threetest series had been declared a draw.
‘‘It was pretty flat to be fair,’’ Cruden said when explaining the mood in the All Blacks’ dressing room afterwards.
‘‘I don’t think anyone wants to see it end in a draw, and certainly not us as players. It would have been nice to play some extra time and for there to be a winner, not only in the test match but in the series. But what is done is done, now. That is just the way it is – we share the series.’’
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and his captain Kieran Read chose their words carefully when discussing Poite’s decision to back down from awarding their side a kickable penalty, rewarding them with a scrum instead.
Clearly they were confused and annoyed, but they refused to be critical in public. That will be dealt with in the post-match debriefs.
But it was clear the penalty, his original call, should have stood. Replacement hooker Ken Owens caught the ball in an offside position when it bounced out of Liam Williams’ grasp from the kick-off.
Although the All Blacks must have been ropeable, and Read wore a look of disbelief when Poite – after watching replays and having a discussion with TMO George Ayoub – changed his mind, Cruden said tempers had cooled by the time the players got into the changing shed.
‘‘I don’t think there is anger, there is just more disappointment probably.
‘‘Initially he ruled it a penalty, and his instincts were probably heading towards that line. Then, obviously, for whatever reason they went back and had a look at it.’’
Cruden, who made his test debut against Ireland in New Plymouth in 2010, said he hadn’t played in a game where a referee had lost his nerve, and backed down from awarding a penalty.
‘‘No, it is not something I have seen before. It is just a bit of a shame, but that is the way it goes. You can’t dwell on it too much because has happened, has happened.’’