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All Blacks vs England takeaways: Richie Who? Time for Cortez
By Ben Smith
The All Blacks were made to work hard for a 24-17 win in the second Test against England to close out the series 2-0.
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First five Damian McKenzie was influential while the set piece had its issues. The first debutant of the year saw the field and made an immediate impact.
Here are four takeaways from a New Zealand perspective from the second Test win over England.
Richie Who’unga?
So many column inches have been dedicated to discussion around if and when Richie Mo’unga will be back in black but after two Tests against England it is clear that the All Blacks don’t need Richie. Having Mo’unga is definitely a luxury and no doubt he is wanted, but he is not needed.
Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie, who has been a long servant of New Zealand Rugby, is in career best form right now and has taken the No 10 jersey with two hands. We saw it in Mendoza against Argentina last year, McKenzie was brilliant that day.
The former fullback who dazzled at Super level for many years with unpredictability and daring play has refined his game for Test level. Against England there were no hair-pulling errors, wild passes or low percentage plays. McKenzie was a steady presence in both Tests, piloting the All Blacks with control and poise.
Aside from the shot clock fiasco in Dunedin and a couple missed shots at goal, he was putting together a maestro performance with ball-in-hand. His distribution was on the money and he found the edge frequently. His kicking game was key, coming up with an assist for Sevu Reece, while under the high ball he was fantastic.
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At Eden Park he sparked two long range breaks that were eventually bombed and tries went begging. Outside of McKenzie’s playmaking, the All Blacks had no other line breaks. He eventually put Beauden Barrett through the gap for Mark Tele’a’s match-winning try.
Once Cortez Ratima was on the park, his No 9 at the Chiefs, and Beauden Barrett at his fullback, the All Blacks’ attack changed for the better and they were able to increase the tempo.
Barrett and McKenzie were the dynamic duo the All Blacks were investing in leading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Over the 2017-18 seasons at 10 and 15 they were excellent, before McKenzie’s injury struck. Based on the final quarter at Eden Park, it is a partnership that deserves a revival in 2024.
Set piece woes
The set piece was a mixed bag at Eden Park with the scrum returning to dominance and delivering a strong platform, but the lineout was absolutely diabolical.
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Captain Scott Barrett put it down to communication issues and a couple of botched calls, while there were a couple of bad execution errors on the maul formation.
In Dunedin Codie Taylor was near flawless in the first half before the lineout became an issue in the second.
Yes England have some world class threats disrupting ball like Maro Itoje, but so will the big boys Ireland, France and South Africa later this year.
The All Blacks can’t waste that much ball and opportunity to launch down the line.
If Taylor’s lineout continues to be inconsistent, you might as well have Asafo Aumua out there who can deliver more with ball-in-hand and bring unmatched power to the carry game.
When Taylor was mowed down early in the first half after McKenzie’s chip and regather, the comment was made in the media box that Dane Coles would’ve scored that. Well, Aumua might have too.
Still lacking killer instinct
It was almost a repeat of the first Test with the All Blacks not taking there opportunities in the first half, England striking right on half-time, building a lead in the second half only for the All Blacks to surge home in the final quarter.
As expected, the All Blacks are working things out but the lack of killer instinct is apparent. There were two big misses in the first half.
Damian McKenzie’s brilliant chip and regather ultimately put Codie Taylor in open space. He had Sevu Reece outside with some distance between the next defender. A long but difficult pass would have certainly seen Reece score. Taylor tucked and ran, ultimately mowed down before a desperate fling.
The next chance was again from a McKenzie-orchestrated break on a kick return, with the No 10 spinning out of a tackle and finding Tele’a and Stephen Perofeta.
Perofeta had two men inside unmarked, Finlay Christie and Jordie Barrett, and Tele’a on the outside. He went outside and pushed the pass too early, not drawing the final man Freddie Steward into contact. That minor detail was vital and the All Blacks bombed a certain try.
The inside ball would’ve seen Christie or Barrett under the posts, while committing Steward would have also seen Tele’a scamper around closer to the poles.
The difference was visible when Beauden Barrett at fullback delivered his final pass to Tele’a, at the last second to commit the last defender.
Taking those chances and getting up by 21-7 changes the complexion of the game, putting a ton of scoreboard pressure on England and forcing them to chase.
Time for Cortez
Chiefs halfback Cortez Ratima made his debut against England coming on in the second half but it might be time for the young No 9 to get the starting job.
Finlay Christie produced a solid defensive game, assisting on multiple turnovers and pressuring England’s No 8, but the All Blacks need that speed of delivery in the way that Aaron Smith used to offer.
After the All Blacks bombed the Tele’a opportunity they were afforded a five metre scrum. Under penalty advantage with an open side set-up, Christie was stripped by Alex Mitchell while picking up the ball from the base and taxiing off before passing. That strip killed the free opportunity and the All Blacks settled for three.
He doesn’t pass quickly enough straight off the deck like Cortez. He’s an upright passer that picks the ball up, half stands and makes the pass from the stomach area. At Test level that half second matters.
Time and time again we see Christie get stripped or disrupted at the ruck and his passing technique is a big reason why.
Tele’a’s second try off the Beauden break came from phase play where the All Blacks didn’t have superior gain line but fast ruck speed. A Jordie Barrett cross kick to Anton Lienert-Brown took play to the right touchline.
From there, the All Blacks went three phases back to the left with Ratima’s delivery creating the tempo.
The speed of the recycle and Ratima’s fast delivery caught England short of numbers and helped create the wide gap for Barrett to run into.
Christie was simply too slow at scrum and ruck. And the rush defence easily capitalized. TJ was quicker but his pass was labored and often the receivers were waiting that split second too long. Aaron smith’s pass was like a bullet and that was the luxury to mitigate the rush defence he was able to set the backline flying on the front foot. Cortez was a breath of fresh air the dynamics of the game changed. Even Barrett was back at his best because he received fast ball and he regained the split Second timing to produce those touches that we've been missing all because the abs became weak in the halves. I’m excited by this young fullah at half back I hope he gets to start.
McKenzie was not as good as this article portrays. Richie Mo’unga is needed and would blossom under Razor as he did at the Crusaders. Major surgery is needed in the loose forwards , Ethan Blackadder should have been played in the last test. Finau did nothing in those two tests. Reiko is hopeless at 13, a wing option only.
Mounga will be back next year .
Small mistake for Telea’s second try. The cover defender is Marcus Smith as Steward was left behind by Barrett’s break
Correct analysis of Perofeta’s bungling of the try opportunity Ben. Never ‘fixed’ Steward as he came across in defence and passed too early. Steward didn’t have to break his stride and simply moved on to pressure Telea. Never scanned the easier option of passing to the two supporting players on the inside. Beauden Barrett showed how it is done when he put Telea in for his try. Another point from the game is that the rush defence is hard to maintain as the number of phases increases. From scrums the defensive line only contains backs who all have roughly the same pace. Once forwards are involved, the defence has players with variable speeds often leading to a jagged line. It also tends to lose pace overall giving the attack more time and space. Beauden Barrett’s break to set up Telea’s try came because Baxter went in to tackle McKenzie and Steward went out to cover Telea. Barrett has a massive hole to run through, then commits Steward by passing as late as possible and Telea scores untouched.
Another comment I would make is that Ben Earl is a good player and generally an excellent defender but he made three significant misses in the series, two of which led to All Black tries. Got stepped by Perofeta in Dunedin for Savea’s try, missed McKenzie in Auckland leading to what should have been a certain try being set up by Perofeta and was one of the tacklers who couldn’t stop Savea in the leadup to Telea’s first try. Perhaps he should contact Owen Farrell to pick up a few tips from ‘tackle school’.
You Poms and Paddies are really nice guys.
New Zealand V Ireland - 37 Tests - N.Z. 31 Wins - Ireland 5 Wins - 1 draw.
New Zealand V England - 45 Tests - N.Z. 35 Wins -England 8 Wins - 2 draws.
Combined - You have beaten the All Blacks 13 Times in 82 attempts over 119 years.
The Stats over 100 years + would say, especially England with 6 Times the player pool
than New Zealand, you have “a limitation of context” regarding developing your coaches to teach your players how to WIN.
So how can England with a 6 times the player numbers have a 17% winning strike rate against New Zealand? and be 8 -0 in Test Series over 100 years.
The answer is simple. Your perception of the game. How do you fix it? You need to play in New Zealand for a couple of seasons in your teens, 18 -20 or send coaches over here.
Martin Johnstone played 2 seasons here under the mentorship of Colin Meads. When he came here he had rugby shorts with pockets and a handkerchief in one pocket.
He played for NZ Under 21 against Wallaby John Eales. He became the toughest player in the game and the best ever English Captain and Captained the Lions twice.
Legend!
Maybe if he hadn’t come to New Zealand, he may still had those rugby shorts with pockets.
Recently Rogan O’Gara spent time at the Crusaders. What a great coach. “Our “mindset is different” and that’s how we have beaten you for 100 years +
How the hell he isn’t Coaching Ireland, France, England, Wales, or Scotland I will never know?
England has 131,000 Senior rugby Players.
Ireland has 21,000 Senior Players.
New Zealand has 27,000 Senior Players.
A couple of counter/additional points here:
1) The lineout troubles can’t really be put on Taylor. The ABs won 10 of 13 lineouts (including 2 steals of their own). 2 of the 3 that they lost were dropped by the jumper as they were coming to ground. The other was a bad throw and looked like a miscommunication - Savea goes up for a dummy jump with the throw intended to go to Barrett at the back, but it looks like Taylor throws to Savea who has no lift, so it goes straight to Itoje.
2) You mentioned Mackenzie’s kicking game was vital but his contestable kicking was very poor - all three of the bombs he put up were at least 10-25 meters too far and were a waste of possession.
His game otherwise was excellent.
3) Christie’s box kicking was also extremely poor - he put up 4 or 5 but only had 1 that was contestable.
Contestable kicking was a highlight of all of the AB victories in 2023 with Beauden Barrett being a key contributor there.
I like McKenzie and he's a high quality player for his size but the second test was lost until Beauden came in and took charge. There's a reason why Mounga and Beauden were preferred at the world cup. There's a reason why Beaudens been in the tip 23 at the last three world cups.
Lot of “Work to be done” Lineout, Half Back and Midfield. Yet, AB’s still managed to WIN. . .We beat the “POMS” who had beaten France at Lyons in 6 Nation,. . .This was our second Test under a new Management and Coach.
A great effort! Let’s enjoy each WIN! I would play all those new guys against Fiji.
You can see BB enjoying “The New environment” and wait until they unleash Sititi…
Google: “Sititi scores stunner 2003 World Cup Samoa v England”
Carbon copy of Dad just a bit quicker. . . Ardi who?
But lets be clear B Barrett is not an option for 2027. He remains good for impact and to cover Jordan for injury, which Jordan does pick up alot. But we need the next gen in action now. Locks remain the big concern though. And why is noone talking about ioane. So absent from the game we have forgotten him.