Sunday special: Triskaidekaphobia

An extremely short post to try to cover an extremely long season ($)

Photosport / Andrew Cornaga

Judging by the few brief conversations held at Bounce Towers in the immediate aftermath of one of the weirdest games of rugby ever acted out in front of a live audience, it seems most people are agreement that this is the perfect 80-minute encapsulation of the All Black season.

Max, commenting below my previous post, put this point (and one other) in writing:

“Well if there was a perfect example for the All Blacks season that was it. If there was ever an advertisement for men’s rugby, that game wasn’t it.”

Yet I’m not sure this bonkers 25-25 draw with England was the All Black season in a nutshell. My memories of the All Blacks’ previous 13 tests are not necessarily reliable, but as a collective I’d describe 2022 as mostly plodding and static, especially the first half of the season.

At Twickenham, when allowed by the referee, they were dynamic and fluid. While it’s the use (overuse?) of the cross-kick that has captured most of the attention, I was more taken by their league-style, second-man plays where they feigned to play close to the line, passed directly backwards and then shifted wide. It means you’re playing a lot of rugby behind the advantage line, but the speed, strength and handling skills in that All Black midfield should get them on the front foot most of the time.

Which brings me to Rieko Ioane. It was his performance that symbolised the season.