All Blacks rue late meltdown
England roar home to snatch dramatic draw at Twickenham
Nine lousy minutes. And, from a New Zealand perspective, they were very lousy. That was the difference between the All Blacks signing off their rollercoaster season in style, and Ian Foster’s men trudging off Twickenham with those familiar doubts swirling over their heads.
But in the end those nine minutes laid bare the shortcomings of this All Blacks side as it coughed up a 19-point lead inside the final 10 minutes to tumble to a 25-25 draw against a limited but gritty England side yesterday.
This was an All Blacks choke of the highest order, no matter the attempts to paint it otherwise by a head coach in denial.
The New Zealanders avoided a similar meltdown in Melbourne by the skin of their teeth; but here there was no sidestepping the reality of a team that lacked the mental strength and physical wherewithal to finish the job in a big-time test.
Think about it. All Blacks sides just don’t fold like a pessimistic poker player. The 1999 World Cup semifinal loss to France featured a similar reversal of fortune, but that played out over a longer period. In Melbourne in September they actually lost an 18-point advantage in the final quarter, only to get out of jail late via an outrageous referee decision.
In so many ways this was the All Blacks’ season in a nutshell. Long stretches of quality marred by moments of ineptitude. Those four defeats from earlier in the campaign are now joined by a draw that will in no way be celebrated.
When Beauden Barrett coolly slotted a dropped goal in the 71st minute for a 25-6 lead, it looked a formality they would kick on to conclude an emphatic rebuild of their season with a seventh consecutive victory in a match marred by referee Mathieu Raynal’s incessant whistle (there were 30 penalties dished out).
Good teams don’t lose 19-point leads inside the final 10 minutes in tests as important as this. Good sides don’t invite their opponents back into the contest the way the All Blacks did. Good rugby players simply do not allow opponents to grasp a lifeline the way Foster’s men did.
Despite his protestations otherwise – Foster later claimed his team was ‘‘growing an arm and a leg’’ and that he was ‘‘pretty proud’’ of a lot of the rugby played – this is not yet an All Blacks team of true quality. Even during the six-test win streak hitherto there have been numerous examples of that.
But this one hurt, because such a strong foundation had been laid through the first three quarters. The New Zealanders had dominated the first spell to lead
17-3 at the break. Their scrum was bossing, their clever kicking game testing England and they were on top at the breakdown. And a magical 50th-minute try to Rieko Ioane off a pinpoint piece of crossfield execution appeared to put them in an unbeatable position.
But midway through the second spell momentum changed sides. England began creating breaks and chances. The All Blacks hit backtrack mode. Johnny May started hitting holes. Marcus Smith too. Their team-mates finally realised they could compete.
So when Beauden Barrett, soon after his neatly taken dropped goal, was yellow carded for his defensive play on Smith on the line from a brilliant break, the fuse was lit.
Replacement prop Will Stuart powered over after Smith’s break, fullback Freddie Steward finished a surging move soon after and in the dying minutes Stuart added a second when he just dotted down in Richie Mo’unga’s tackle to level the scores.
The All Blacks have finished the year with a record of eight wins, four losses and a draw after a 25-25 thriller against England.
A disappointing finish undid much of their good work earlier in the test – and showed how deep you need to dig to beat a side like England, who thrive on momentum.
Here are the big talking points after the Twickenham test.
World rugby is a traffic jam at the top, but the All Blacks are inching forwards
There is no chance of any team bursting clear of the five-strong pack at the top of the rankings and establishing themselves as clear favourites for the Rugby World Cup. France occupy that position in many people’s minds, but they needed a slice of fortune to beat the Wallabies and South Africa in recent weeks. Ireland, missing the injured Johnny Sexton, struggled to break down the Wallabies in Dublin after the All Blacks-england test. Standards have risen across the board, and All Blacks fans must accept they have no preordained right to sit above the crowd – and that there can still be positives from a draw at Twickenham. And there was a clear one: the All Blacks’ starting tight five is now capable of being successful in France. That’s a big shift from recent years.
Bench rethink required
The progress outlined above shouldn’t stop the All Blacks from taking a critical look at how they set up their bench. Fletcher Newell’s energy was conspicuous by its absence at Twickenham as England replacement prop Will Stuart was helping himself to two tries. The All Blacks have shown plenty of faith in Nepo Laulala, but there is a question mark about whether it has been rewarded. Similarly, Hoskins Sotutu and David Havili were named on the bench but only used lightly – eight minutes and one minute, respectively. What were their roles before the test started? England had been picking up a head of steam even before Beauden Barrett’s costly yellow card. A punchy prop, loose forward and midfielder or winger are needed next year.
Papalii is the form No 7
The All Blacks could get too cute with Dalton Papalii next year – designate him that role of impact loose forward to make way for Sam Cane at No 7. But, that would be hard on the Blues man, who has been excellent in the black jersey for the past two years. Papalii and Ardie Savea are a nightmare for opponents – the breakdown threat they posed changed the way Eddie Jones selected his England team – and
they have probably been worth 20 points over the past two tests in the number of tries they have prevented by key steals on the ground.
The Caleb Clarke conundrum
The All Blacks winger is brilliant with ball in hand, but there is work to be done on his game without it. Defensively, he has had some issues this year but you would also love to see him up his involvement rate when the All Blacks go direct. The All Blacks’ forwards have proved capable of punching some real holes in defences – if Clarke can get himself in and around the ruck in support he could be unstoppable. He’s capable of it – he showed that against the Springboks in South Africa – but he has been quiet over the past three tests.
Tyrel Lomax’s coming of age
England No 1 Ellis Genge is a bull – and rightly rated as one of the best looseheads in the northern hemisphere. However, Lomax did a job on him at Twickenham: he dominated him at scrum time on a number of occasions and you don’t often see the England scrum go backwards like that. It’s easy to forget that Lomax was hauled off at 33 minutes against the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific, such were the flow of scrum penalties and free kicks against his side. He’s now the anchor of the All Blacks’ scrum.