1
Jordie Barrett: All Blacks got 'exactly' what they expected from Pumas
By Ned Lester
While Los Pumas’ 38-30 win over the All Blacks may have come as a surprise to many, what wasn’t a surprise is how they accomplished it according to Jordie Barrett.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Kiwi vice-captain used the word “disappointing” eight times in his three minutes of speaking to media following the loss while pinpointing a number of areas that required improvement.
Barrett was adamant the team’s preview gave them a clear and accurate picture of what the contest would entail, replying “certainly not” when asked if Argentina surprised him in any way.
“Tonight was exactly what we previewed,” he said. “They’re a good side, strong at the breakdown, they messed up a lot of our ball. A passionate side who don’t go away.
“We’ve got to take that one on the chin ourselves, get better – and we will get better.”
When first asked where the improvements need to be made, the 27-year-old pointed to his side’s penalty count, which was double their tally in the second Test against England.
“We were a little bit loose in a few different areas tonight which is disappointing, lacked a little bit of discipline and probably a little bit of care for the ball.
“Look, Argentina are a good side and we were second best.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Asked to elaborate on why the team was inaccurate in those areas, Barrett said the team would have to wait for the review to be sure, but said it was difficult to find a rhythm in the contest.
“Not sure, we’ll have to review and look at the game, but I guess the nature of the game was pretty stop-start and we felt like when we had opportunities we tried to assert ourselves and pushed a few things, were maybe a little sloppy around the middle third of the field for a Test match.
“I think we could have put them into a bit more of a pressure cycle through our kicking game. It’s disappointing.”
Argentina’s game in tight made life difficult for the hosts, and even with some key adjustments at halftime, it was the second period where New Zealand lost their momentum.
ADVERTISEMENT
“They’re a very physical side, good around the breakdown and we felt we might have been a little bit high around the collision, particularly in that first half, it’s something we spoke about at halftime. We got a little bit better after halftime in that space.
“But, look, when we scored points we didn’t exit and we compounded a few mistakes so it’s pretty disappointing.”
His response makes no sense. If he knew EXACTLY what Argentina were going to bring, exactly what they would be doing then surely they, ABs, would have won by a landslide. The fact that they lost means they had little to no clue what was going to happen.
Like you, they might have assumed that knowing what Argentina would do should result in a landslide and were psychologically unprepared to fight.
Collisions cleanouts and the breakdown all failed, not to mention an extremely poor showing in the kicking department. It's always an arm wrestle with Argentina so you really have to know what to expect. I think not mentally motivated enough.
100%. They expected a fight with England and won those tight games. NZ looked like a team who had not psychologically prepared for a potential close contest. This ofcourse hands the initiative to Argentina who knew a major fight would be required to win and wee ready.
Argentina wont go away in the second test like two years ago. This week and next game should be a real test for NZ. If they think with a few tweaks they will blow Arg away, they could end up in another fight
So..You exoected it and werent able to respond? What an admission
If they expected it but failed to respond then it shows both how badly they planned and how badly they executed. Of course there is another one. I expect ABs to win next week because they have a knack of turning those games around. However, I wouldn't be so quick to write off Los Pumas so quickly. It's going to be tougher for LP next week, but also for ABs.