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All Blacks top five Richie Mo’unga faces off against the Wallabies defense during Sunday’s Bledisloe Cup opener.
Richie Mo’unga can’t remember the last time he attempted a drop goal.
But the top five of the All Blacks were in their pocket, ready to field a potential match winner during Sunday’s Bledisloe Cup standoff with Australia, only for rookie Hoskins Sotutu to throw the ball at Jordie Barrett.
With the benefit of hindsight, coach Ian Foster said the All Blacks should have kept the ball tight, particularly since running back TJ Perenara had been sucked into the ruck after heading towards the try line.
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The top five say that despite falling into the pocket multiple times, the All Blacks’ momentum eventually ruled out a drop goal attempt.
Although they did not practice drop goal in the run-up to Sunday’s clash, Mo’unga was ready and waiting to make the decisive move. Captain Sam Cane even pointed to his playmaker, who appeared to call for a droppie, before Barrett saw George Bridge stalking unmarked on the right wing.
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“There were a couple of times I got into my pocket,” said Mo’unga, who on Monday was feeling pain in his shoulder. “But the momentum had us, and it seemed likely that we would score, so it was not a drop-kick because we were going forward.
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All Blacks star Rieko Ioane was involved in two controversial incidents in the first half of the test against the Wallabies.
“I was in a position to take one, but the decision was for the forwards to just pick the middle. Could I have had a better voice? Perhaps. But when you’re like this, it’s a bit hectic and everyone wants the ball. Opportunities were everywhere. “
Nine minutes after a throbbing additional period of time, with the score locked at 16-16, the All Blacks had a golden opportunity to snatch what seemed like an unlikely Bledisloe Cup victory when Reece Hodge, just moments earlier, hit the vertical from a booming long-range penalty.
But with Bridge widening the wing, Sotutu released Barrett, who had drawn the last man. However, the rookie execution disappointed him and Barrett was forced to dive low to collect the ball.
The Wallabies won a loss and Mo’unga’s counterpart James O’Connor was more than happy to kick the ball down the sideline and settle for a draw.
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All Blacks Caleb Clarke and Ardie Savea pray together full time.
“If Jordie got the pass, or if we got the pass, we wouldn’t be talking about drop kicks, but it was definitely on my mind. I felt like we were going forward and we could have scored, ”Mo’unga said.
“It’s tough because we know what awaits us, we are trying to score, we are playing in the 87th minute and we want to do things with rhythm. But we realize that they are the ones under pressure, they are the ones under their sticks. As a games driver, we could definitely do a lot better. “
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Rookie loosie Hoskins Sotutu tries to evade Michael Hooper and Rob Valetini during the second half.
Despite claiming a memorable first result, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said he was disappointed that his team did not attempt a drop goal when they regained possession after Hodge’s near miss as they had been preparing for that one. same scenario in the run-up to opening. proof.
However, when asked if the All Blacks also practiced their drop-kicks, Foster revealed that they did not.
“To be honest, in the first week that we were together, no, we haven’t practiced it,” Foster said. “But do we usually do it as we build through a campaign? The answer is probably yes. But there are many things that both teams would have left out, because when you enter your first test you can’t cover everything. “
Although there were differing opinions among the coaching staff about what they should do in the closing seconds, Foster said they ultimately relied on “key decision makers” on the field to make the right decision in the heat of the moment. On Monday morning, he admitted that the All Blacks were wrong.
“If we isolate it until now. [It’s the] First game together, we have Jordie yelling for the ball to the side and there was a clear opportunity. But maybe what he didn’t quite see is that we have forwards as a running back, we didn’t have a number 9 there to give him a crisp pass.
Was it the best option? Probably not. Did we get a chance to relax and keep doing what we were doing and put Richie and Jordie behind? Yes we did it. So we have to learn from that. “
