Star’s boot turns the tables
Barrett says ABs happy to grind out win at Twickenham
Beauden Barrett can see the irony. The All Blacks had touched down four times or more in their past 12 tests, but here they were outscored two-tries-to-one by England at Twickenham and escaping on the back of Barrett’s accurate boot.
Even with the London rain pelting down, given his goal kicking struggles at times few predicted Barrett would hit his first test match dropped goal and nail a clutch 60th-minute penalty while Owen Farrell’s failure to convert Chris Aston’s opening try proved costly.
“We knew we had to play a different game of rugby. It still took us a while to figure that out in the first half but we got there in the end,” Barrett said after the 16-15 victory.
“Typically if you look at the scoresheet it’s not the way you’d see an All Blacks test win — two tries to one and so on — but up here you have to find ways to grind out a game. I’m glad we did and it’s a step in the right direction for us.
“It means a lot. You would’ve seen the emotion out there to grind out a tough win against England, this is their fortress. They love to play that type of game, they love these conditions, it was a good test for us.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played England so there has been a lot of hype around that. There’re a lot of guys who played at Twickenham for the first time so they’ll remember that for a long time, as will I. We were pushed to the limits.”
Barrett’s 46th-minute dropped goal was something of a free hit with the All Blacks playing under a penalty advantage. But, on such a stage, he is sure to take confidence from dropping back into the pocket, splitting the sticks, and learning lessons from the loss to the Springboks in Wellington earlier this year.
“It was a no-brainer we had an advantage. We probably would’ve kicked the goal anyway although we had a bit of momentum going. It felt instinctive because it’s something I’ve been working on in training. It was the right option at the right time.”
Barrett was, however, powerless to stop Sam Underhill’s late try, the English flanker turning him inside and out on the way to the line.
Fortunately for the All Blacks, TMO Marius Jonker eventually rubbed it out with Courtney Lawes deemed offside before charging down TJ Perenara’s kick.
Such is their never-say-die atti- tude, Barrett revealed the All Blacks planned an immediate response.
“We were ready to go short on the kickoff and win the ball back. The more we looked at the tape the more we knew it would be a penalty so we had to think about what next and that was a lineout drive. I was impressed with his pace actually.”
The All Blacks fly to Dublin today to prepare for another heavyweight test against Ireland, the world’s No 2 ranked nation.