Barrett prepared for rush defence
Charged with preventing Australian rugby’s annus horribilis sliding further down the gurgler, Michael Cheika will surely turn to the British and Irish Lions for inspiration.
Given the Lions drew the recent series against the All Blacks, and in doing so flicked muck at those who predicted they would be wiped-out 3-0, Wallabies coach Cheika must have had his analysts feverishly breaking down the positive bits before feeding them to his players.
You could include the Lions’ fast defensive line speed, and their ability to alter their patterns by instructing the wings squeeze in closer to their midfielders or push closer to the touch lines, among the juicy bits Cheika has fired into his players’ inboxes.
All Blacks first five-eighth Beauden Barrett accepted the Wallabies could adopt the rush defence. With the All Blacks forced to acknowledge there were deficiencies in their game, and having attempted to rectify them, it meant there was no lack of awareness of what the Aussies might present in the Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney on Saturday night.
‘‘Some teams in Super Rugby adopted that style of defence too, and we do understand it puts the person with the ball under a bit more pressure,’’ Barrett said.
‘‘But, you know, there are opportunities elsewhere. If the Wallabies do bring that on Saturday, we have learned ways to deal with it.
‘‘It is an ongoing trend, more teams are starting to bring that line speed.’’
Lions defence coach Andy Farrell did a fine job for his boss Warren Gatland; he emphasised the importance of his defenders chatting to each other, the need to target the All Blacks’ upper bodies in the tackle, and to ensure the centre picked the right moment to push out of the line to make a spot hit.
The task for Cheika is to give his players the self-belief to emulate the Lions as they attempt to salvage what is fast proving to be the year from hell.
Chief executive Bill Pulver has announced his resignation and pending a court appeal - the Western Force have been buried; but not before they contributed to the five Aussie sides ending the Super Rugby season with 26 straight losses against their New Zealand counterparts.
Barrett, who stuck with the mantra that the Aussies’ dreadful run in Super Rugby was irrelevant, has experienced his share of turbulence this season.
His goal kicking came under scrutiny after the Lions series, and he was also forced to offer words of encouragement to younger brother Jordie when he suffered a seasonending shoulder injury during the Hurricanes’ semifinal loss to the Lions in Johannesburg.
‘‘He is obviously disappointed,’’ Barrett said in reference to his younger sibling.
‘‘It is part of the game, though. And he understands that and is already looking forward to getting the surgery done and coming back after working hard and doing his rehab’’.
Jordie, who started at fullback in the third and final test against the Lions at Eden Park, which ended in a 15-15 draw, was preferred ahead of his older brother to shoot for goal for the Hurricanes this year.
Beauden said it was irrelevant to talk about there being extra pressure on him to nail his goals because his brother was in the casualty ward: ‘‘There can be only one kicker, mate, so he is not here. You know, we are just focusing on our job now. I have been goal kicking since I was six years old, so I have always been analysing my technique.’’
Barrett senior also had to calm down excited Hurricanes teammate Ricky Riccitelli when he was called up to replace Dane Coles, who won’t play in Sydney because of headaches. Barrett said he missed five phone calls from Riccitelli on Saturday night.
‘‘He must have been quite anxious and excited about it. He thought someone was prankcalling him so he just had to confirm it was for real, and I hadn’t heard anything of it. It must have been legit and it was.’’