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'I actually went up and thanked him': Lesson All Blacks will take into Pumas contest

Jordie Barrett. (Photo by DAVE LINTOTT/AFP via Getty Images)

While things didn’t exactly go the All Blacks‘ way under the high ball in Mbombela, the travelling New Zealanders were able to turn the tide in Johannesburg and get the better of the Springboks at the aerial contest.

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As was expected of the Springboks halfbacks, Faf de Klerk and Jayden Hendrikse and Herschel Jantjies launched the ball to the skies repeatedly from the base of the ruck over the two matches in South Africa and the NZ back three desperately struggled to gain clean possession in the opening Test of the series.

Things took a turn for the better at Ellis Park, however, with the All Blacks making things more difficult for the Springboks kickers and chasers, and the visitors were able to get the upper hand, springboarding them to an impressive 35-22 win.

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Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Argentina, fullback Jordie Barrett acknowledged the work of the men around him who made his job easier in the Springboks rematch, including brother Scott Barrett who led the charge on the South Africa No 9s.

“There’s a lot more that goes into [contesting] ball-in-the-air,” he said. “I personally take a lot more pride in that, just go up and own the ball, and it was as simple as if we got up and caught a few more balls, you go a long way to winning a Test match.

“That’s all I was trying to control and we had some outstanding kick pressure on their 9, a lot of counter-rucking that made it a little messy. A few charge downs and some kick pressure which certainly made my job easier.

“We locked them into a bit of a corner in Ellis Park and made it uncomfortable for their 9s. I didn’t really notice in the game but after watching the footage, I actually went up and thanked [Scott Barrett] for putting all that pressure on the 9s. That certainly makes my job a lot easier when I can just get up there and try and own that responsibility.”

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The All Blacks will be taking on Los Pumas at Orangetheory Stadium this Saturday and the Argentinians are fresh off a mighty performance of their own, thumping the Wallabies 48-17 in San Juan last weekend. In that victory, they also regularly employed box kicks off breakdowns to create contestable situations on attack and it paid off in a big way, with the Wallabing making countless errors under pressure from the Argentinian chasers.

Unsurprisingly, Barrett has suggested that the All Blacks will be once again putting themselves to the test under the high ball at training this week.

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“I was watching a few of their training clips on the computer yesterday and they’re outstanding in the air right across the board,” said the All Blacks fullback. “[Emiliano] Boffelli, he’s world class.

“They’ve scored quite a few tries from kick pressure and guys getting up and retaining the ball. We spent a lot of time preparing for South Africa catching contestables but I think we almost have to prepare the same for the Argentinians, if not more. They’ve got some outstanding athletes, great on their feet and awesome in the air so it’s going to be a big week for the back three.

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Barrett also noted that the Pumas had dangermen across the park and that the All Blacks would have to remain on their toes throughout the 80-minute contest.

“Watching a lot of footage, they can score tries from anywhere and a lot of the time it’s – I say unconventional in the most respectful way. They’ve just got some outstanding footwork, particularly midfield and outside backs, and then forwards that have a real good short passing game now. Seen a lot of variation in their game where their props and socks, and hookers are tipping and throwing inside balls so they’ve got a diverse game plan that we have to come prepared for. They’ve got strike [players] all over the park.”

Saturday’s match is set to kick off at 7:05pm NZT with the Pumas chasing their first-ever victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand.

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Comments

8 Comments
K
Kenneth 803 days ago

Jordie forgot to mention how there players blocked our chasers

a
atawhai 804 days ago

Great stuff! Lesssgooo boys!

D
DarstedlyDan 804 days ago

The Wallabing-badda-boom?

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O
Oh no, not him again? 1 hour ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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