Read loses sleep over loss to Irish
SLEEPING didn’t come easily to Kieran Read in the hours after Ireland rocked the All Blacks in Chicago last Sunday.
A fortnight after celebrating the All Blacks’ tier-one world record of 18 straight victories over the Aussies in Auckland, a golden run that seemed certain to continue during the tour of Chicago, Rome, Dublin and France, Read tasted defeat for the first time as the national captain.
Ireland, with Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt masterminding a game plan to exploit the All Blacks’ weakened lineout and to use the ball more than many thought possible, won 40-29.
Now Read, rested from the test against Italy in Rome this morning (NZT), is itching to have another crack at the Irish in Dublin next weekend.
In the aftermath of the loss, in which the All Blacks conceded five tries, had prop Joe Moody yellow carded for a tip tackle, struggled with their lineout early and were unable to capitalise on a spectacular comeback when Ben Smith, TJ Perenara and Scott Barrett scored tries in the second half, Read didn’t have the best recovery in his downtown hotel.
‘‘It wasn’t great,’’ he replied when asked how well he slept that night.
‘‘It was the first [loss] for a long time and, I think, a good eyeopener. In saying that, I have looked at the picture of what it could mean and hope it is a very valuable lesson for the All Blacks as a whole – and we can move on from it.’’
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen didn’t do an in-depth review of the loss with the players after their arrival in Rome.
They didn’t ignore the result, because it needed to be addressed. But with 12 changes made for the match against Italy, he said a forensic analysis of everything that went wrong wouldn’t be relevant.
Once they get to Ireland, they will sit down and discuss what went so wrong and how to rectify their errors.
No 8 Read doesn’t expect anyone to suggest sweeping changes will need to be made in any capacity.
Although All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster had agreed with an assessment from former test player and coach Sir Brian Lochore, who said the team had been too predictable, the former said it was more the mechanics of the performance that contributed to the Irish being able to read their attack.
Better execution, to prevent defenders from being able to pull the game plan apart so easily, will be a priority.
Although the players refuted suggestions they were distracted by the novelty of being in Chicago, Read did admit, with the benefit of hindsight, the buildup could have been better.
‘‘There is not going to be an over-reaction,’’ he emphasised. ‘‘We will back what we do. It’s a good lesson to learn. It’s not so much the game. More the week before, you think of the things that you could have done better.
‘‘How our preparation was leading into the game. It won’t change our approach in terms of how we do things, it just focuses the microscope on how we do things and making sure everyone is aligned in the same way.’’
There is no doubt Hansen and his selectors will field their top side in Dublin and the forward pack should profit from having Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, if passed fit, back in the second row.
Meanwhile, Read, 31, hopes to come to terms with NZ Rugby about re-signing through to the 2019 World Cup in the near future.
His contract expires at the end of next year, and remaining in New Zealand is a priority.
‘‘I want to be here. That will just be a case of nutting it out.’’