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Scott Robertson on 'remarkable' performance from latest All Black debutant
By Ned Lester
A momentum swing took Eden Park by storm late in the second New Zealand vs England Test on Satutrday night, and that swing can largely be attributed to the impact of the All Blacks bench.
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The hosts’ scrum tightened the screws and won key penalties, Beauden Barrett turned broken play into legitimate scoring opportunities, and a 23-year-old debutant slotted in seamlessly to facilitate the uptick in pace.
Chiefs halfback Cortez Ratima was the man entrusted with the No. 21 jersey in the contest. Entering the match in the 53rd minute for an injured Finlay Christie, the moment was anything but overawhing for the young star.
Ratima’s side were trailing 13-17 at the time, in desperate need of an injection of pace as they looked to retain their famous 30-year winning record at Eden Park.
Under a mountain of pressure, the youngster delivered.
“Cortez was remarkable, wasn’t he? I thought he did his core role really well, he kicked well,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said of the debutant after the game.
“I’m really pleased, he trains well and he actually converted it straight onto the field which, in that position, at Test level, it just shows how classy and skilful the young man is.”
The bench unit provided the needed impact on the night, producing a vintage All Blacks final quarter and sealing the 24-17 win.
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The final play saw England go to the driving maul off a lineout just five metres from the New Zealand line. Forwards and backs alike packed into the contest before a dramatic defensive play from Beauden Barrett caught the ball carrier peeling off the maul and held the play just short of the line.
A TMO analysis found the breakaway group had committed an offside infringement, drawing the game to a dramatic close.
“I knew that I was underneath it, I didn’t know that it would get to that point but I was just relieved that I did,” Barrett told media following the win.
“I was making up for a minute earlier when I should have out that ball in the stands. Marcus Smith took a quick throw, so I’m quite relived the game finished the way it did.
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“I was comfortable that I held the ball up, don;t ask me about the obstruction rules.”
Reserve prop Fletcher Newell added some insight into the conversations the reserve unit had been having throughout the week.
“Us reserves that came on, we’ve had really good discussions throughout the week on what we need to do when we come on, whether that’s speeding up the game or just doing our job really well,” Newell said.
“So, that’s just what we tried to do tonight, we found little opportunities where we could come on and bring energy to the group and that’s what we tried to do.”
The young front rower said he and his fellow younger team members will take lots of learnings from the series.
“The last two Tests have been really tough and the boys coming on off the bench have had to bring a lot of energy to try and close out the game. I think for us boys coming on, it’s not so much about closing out the game, we’re still trying to attack and apply pressure.
“So, for us young boys coming in it’s awesome to close out those tight ones.”
Ratima changed the “Pace” and Barrett changed the game
Remarkable, really! Only if you compare the performance with the two Robertson chose as his lead halfbacks.
Next year all Waikato Schools halfs - Roigard, Ratima and Hotham and maybe Rowe? The current NZU20 half is very good too. Plenty of quality there.