Tuipulotu vows to keep cool
If anyone has a dollar to spare, have a flutter on Pablo Matera baiting Patrick Tuipulotu and his All Blacks team-mates in Newcastle on Saturday night.
While Argentina’s captain Matera has always twisted the throttle on the rugby field, his actions during his team’s TriNations matches suggest he’s got a greater desire to provoke opponents on or off the ball.
During last weekend’s 15-15 draw with the Wallabies in Newcastle, Matera yanked opposition hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa’s hair and earlier in the game Argentina’s star first five-eighth Nicolas Sanchez bravely slapped big prop Taniela Tupou on the chin.
When the All Blacks lost 25-15 to Argentina in Sydney on November 14, Matera, a colossus in defence and at the breakdown, marched into a scuffle involving All Blacks No 6 Shannon Frizell and later told referee Angus Gardner: ‘‘I am playing for my country. That is not respect.’’
So, it would be a fair bet to say Matera and his cohorts are gearing-up to needle the All Blacks again, and lock Tuipulotu knows it.
The key, he said, was for the All Blacks not to lose their rags.
‘‘As an All Black, against any squad, there is always going to be that sort of niggle,’’ Tuipulotu said.
‘‘The hardest thing is to walk away but sometimes that is what you have to do’’
Rather than lash out, Tuipulotu said it was best to ‘‘move on to the next job, and think about that to get the result we want’’.
Which sounds easy in theory. When the teams last met, Frizell was penalised for patting an opponent on the head and almost received a whack in the chops in return.
Hooker Dane Coles was also pinged for a similar act, albeit a far more gentle tap, as Gardner tried to maintain control.
Argentina have been happy to play without the ball and as the All Blacks and Wallabies have discovered, it’s madness to give away penalties through ill-discipline when goal kicker Sanchez has been in regal form.
Matera’s team has been criticised for not wanting to score tries, their sole five-pointer was from a Sanchez try against the All Blacks, but it could help them claim the Tri-Nations crown. All three teams are locked on six points.
If Tuipulotu, 27, who had a quiet game in Sydney, and his team-mates can increase their intensity levels in all facets they could finally crack the South Americans’ defensive wall.
Having stitched together consecutive losses for the first time since 2011, they were earlier beaten by the Wallabies in Brisbane, the All Blacks have slipped to third on the World Rugby rankings.
Tuipulotu, who will play his 40th test, will be expected to throw his 120kg frame about to prove that the All Blacks deserve to still be recognised as one of the most feared teams in the world.
That means producing a highintensity effort. ‘‘I need to bring that, and sort of match that, and go over what they [the Pumas] bring,’’ Tuipulotu said. ‘‘Because all saw how they brought it last time we played, and I think that played into their hands very well.’’
All Blacks squad players will be sick at the sight of tackle bags. Since the first All Blacks squad was named for the Bledisloe series in early September and updated for the Tri-Nations tour in Australia, a group of nine players has seen just 67 minutes of test game time in three and a half months.
Otago prop George Bower, Canterbury lock Mitchell Dunshea and Wellington loose forward Du’Plessis Kirifi have been the invisible men in Australia, not required for a single minute.
Kirifi was sent home early alongside Peter Umaga-Jensen and banned prop Ofa Tuungafasi last week, indicating that some provincial unions might have been unnecessarily depleted.
Cullen Grace, Will Jordan, Dalton Papali’i, Brad Weber and Asafo Aumua have fared little better in terms of game time, while Akira Ioane and Sevu Reece have also played limited roles to date.
Of the above players, Grace was perhaps the most likely to play a supporting role, given his age. However, the lack of game time afforded to Jordan, Weber, Papali’i and Aumua reflects the frustrating nature of the test year, where development opportunities have been limited.
As a result, it feels like that trio are behind where they should be in terms of their All Blacks development, particularly Aumua. While Dane Coles’ form renaissance has been a welcome storyline (at least until the past few weeks) the Hurricanes’ No 2 is 33-years-old and won’t be around forever.
Perhaps he can do a Keven Mealamu and carry on until the
2023 World Cup (Mealamu was 36 when he won the World Cup in
2015), but you wouldn’t take that to the bank.
As a result, Aumua’s development is critical but he has been given few chances to play, thrown on for the last 11 minutes in the loss to the Wallabies in Brisbane.
Unforeseen factors have also been at play. Aumua and Jordan have both been troubled by concussion issues and Jordan lasted just five minutes in his debut against the Wallabies in Bledisloe IV, copping a heavy knock after coming on after 64 minutes.
Still, after showing his class in Super Rugby Aotearoa and highlighting it with two tries in the North v South game, the Crusaders fullback/wing looked well equipped for a more prominent role the first three Bledisloe tests.
Development opportunities