A passing gift - Beaudy's still got it
Double-header on the Gold Coast provides a timely reminder, a classy comeback, a questionable ear-wax removal technique, and a Springbok kick-a-thon.
Beauden Barrett might never again scale the nosebleed heights of 2016 and 2017 but he remains the biggest box-office draw in a sport that could use more of them.
Don’t mistake that for a late entrance into the Barrett v Richie Mo’unga debate. I suspect that has largely been settled, internally within the All Blacks at least, but the 30-year-old provided the sort of clips for his highlight reel few others can dream about.
If you compare the body of work produced by the pair over the past couple of years, Mo’unga’s has more bulk. Importantly, the Crusaders champion remains more reliable off the tee. We were reminded of that in the 39-0 win over Argentina last night when Barrett missed a conversion no international goalkicker should (from about 10m to the right of the posts - an angle he has always struggled with).
Having promised I wasn’t going to rehash the debate, I kind of have, but the intention is only to highlight what a freakish talent Barrett remains.
Christian Cullen is, to my mind, the greatest attacking player of all, pre-knee injury at least. There’ll never be another like him and the reason is simple: defences no longer drift passively sideways - they come up at you fast. Backs no longer have the luxury of playing deep and hitting top speed before they get the ball, but Barrett is the closest you’ll get to this generation’s Cullen in terms of generating edge-of-the-couch anticipation even when he doesn’t have the ball.
Modern halves and centres play flat on the line and it was a nice reminder last night as to how insanely close to the line Barrett can play.
While there was an element of fortune to the first try, scored by Rieko Ioane, it was Barrett playing flat and fast that created it.
As for Luke Jacobsen’s try, the first of a brace for the No8, let it be said that the reverse-flick-spiral-bullet pass is not a skill mastered by many.
If Mo’unga is a better option at No10 than Barrett for the big games, I’m relaxed about that. If the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year is the second-best first five-eighth in the country (and a world-class fullback to boot), the All Blacks are probably going to be okay.
TAP AND GO
Argentina did not get a lot right. They couldn’t win enough ball and what they got they failed to use with any imagination. What they did do well was defend their line with incredible passion. They were forced to make 199 tackles to the All Blacks 102 and conceded 702 metres on the ground compared to 186m gained. They lost 39-0, sure, but on most other days this was a 60-point hammering.
Day time test rugby. More please.
Asafo Aumua is a barrel of a player and his low centre of gravity is a handful. With so many attacking opportunities in the tight games revolving around the lineout drive, however, he has to do better hitting back-of-the-lineout targets.
Jacobsen and David Havili look like more than good players; they look like natural leaders. With less than 20 tests between them they’re international novices, but neither carry themselves like it.
For all the kids at home, please don’t clean your ears like Brad Mooar.
“Hey Fozzie, if I push this pen any harder do you reckon I could get it to come out the other side?” Elsewhere, Marc Hinton at Stuff says Rieko Ioane’s 11th-hour inclusion and performance at centre proves he is a key part of Foster’s future plans, while Gregor Paul argues in the New Zealand Herald that the time for worrying about this All Black team is officially over.
WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT QUADE’S COMEBACK?
There might be some of you out there who hold a grudge against Quade Cooper because he was mean to Richie McCaw. It’s time to let it go.
Cooper did rugby a massive favour when he kicked an after-the-hooter penalty from wide out on the 40m line to beat the Boks.
The Tokoroa-raised first five-eighth was the wildest of wildcard selections when plucked to start at No10 by Dave Rennie after a four-year absence, but the 33-year-old gave the Wallabies much-needed direction after the Bledisloe Cup missteps of Noah Lolesio.
He gave his team and the sport a shot in the arm with his last-minute heroics.
It wasn’t so much that the Wallabies deserved to beat the Springboks. Dave Rennie’s side were still too inaccurate and undisciplined, but that that the world champions didn’t deserve to beat anybody. All they brought to the party on the GC was a high-kicking game and a lineout drive.
If you thought that the dreadful rugby that ruined (along with Covid) the Lions series was tailored for that specific contest, think again.
South Africa’s backs are there for one reason only: to chase kicks launched by either Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard.
As a country, we can be arrogant and dismissive of teams that play a more prosaic style of rugby. This probably comes into that category but when Pollard sits deep in the pocket and hoists kick after kick into the air, the Springboks are a hard watch.
When you keep winning, however, you’re not going to change.
So thanks, Quade.
GETTING THE NRL HORRIBLY WRONG
Faced with a choice of either the Roosters v Titans or Penrith v Souths on Saturday, I went with the latter. Bad choice.
It was tight, it was intense - it was really ordinary.
The Bunnies line speed in defence was hugely impressive but Penrith were over-reliant on the boot of Nathan Cleary. Even if they beat Parramatta next weekend, they’re on a collision course with Melbourne, who looked unbeatable in destroying Manly on Friday night.
If you haven’t seen the last minute of the Roosters elimination semifinal against the Gold Coast, track it down. If you’re a relative or friend of Titans centre Patrick Herbert, avert your eyes.
Already there has been some colourful if grammatically deficient editing of his Wikipedia page.
Week two of the finals shifts to Mackay in the Far North, where Manly meet the Roosters and Penrith get a chance to redeem themselves against Parramatta.
Cool man good reading.