Another victory, they will say, and this one achieved in the den of a formidable rival. Moreover, these All Blacks once again showcase the invaluable benefit of insight and precision—in essence, a natural aptitude for the refined aspects of a sport that places a high premium on power. However, the broader rugby community might perceive that another layer of gloss has been diminished from the black sheen. This is not so much due to England—although they certainly contributed to the rough handling of their guests—but rather the manner in which the All Blacks managed to outscore them three tries to one yet still had to depend on the opposition's inaccuracies to secure the win.
Then again, no one claimed this team is anything more than a work in progress. Those three tries were executed in classic style by these unparalleled players with the ball in hand, but the opportunity for England's sole try, equally brilliantly finished, was a result of a tendency to overplay, a flaw that would be less conceivable in the era of Dan Carter and his contemporaries. That England remained in the contest at that point was largely due to a lack of discipline, a trait not typically associated with legends like Richie McCaw and his teammates. This time, Marcus Smith, after his struggles from the tee in the first Test this year between these two sides, in Dunedin during the summer, was not inclined to let them off the hook, successfully converting all five of his penalty kicks, the first three for the same infraction.
Jordie Barrett might have felt unlucky to be penalized for his tackle off the ball on Chandler Cunningham-South. It was a reasonable decision to block the England flanker, assuming Maro Itoje was not about to feint, and Cunningham-South brushed him aside regardless. But a tackle off the ball is a tackle off the ball, and that put the All Blacks 3-0 down within the first four minutes. Although the next star in the New Zealand firmament, Wallace Sititi, performed a remarkable offload to send Mark Tele’a away for his first try just five minutes later, Asofa Aumua's late hit on Smith after the ball had left the latter's hands resulted in another three points being deducted.
So, back to that instinct once more. Beauden Barrett has long embodied the All Blacks in the post-Carter era, utterly unstoppable on his day but less capable of controlling a game—or, to put it another way, playing with composure when it is not his day. Nevertheless, the man boasts over 100 caps, a fair testament to his genius. There is something exhilarating about his ability to perceive opportunities that others cannot, easy to imagine him with a grin as he senses another opening. “Ah-ha, yes, this is on,” his entire being seems to convey, suddenly darting off on a tangent beyond the comprehension of anyone else, bar perhaps those in black who respond accordingly.
Such was the scenario for try No 2, when he veered to the blindside in the blink of an eye, signaling to his young scrum-half and then turning the ball inside for another of those lethal All Blacks finishers that appear more frequently than in any other team, with a try count roughly equivalent to their cap tally. Will Jordan executed the line cut to perfection. In the context of a slightly rusty England's commendable recycling game, it represented another strike to the most vulnerable spot. No one else plays the rugby of the gods quite so consistently.
But there is more to rugby than that, and this New Zealand team does not quite evoke fear like the Springboks or Ireland. Another tackle off the ball by, of all people, Sam Cane led to Smith's third penalty, before Tyrel Lomax was penalized at a scrum to keep England only two points behind at halftime. It was four minutes into the second half when the balance shifted in favor of the home side. Barrett was running hard and flat at the defense, and this time Cortez Ratima, his scrum-half, could not find him but Smith instead, who set up a fine counterattacking try for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. Smith's fifth penalty, an hour into the game, posed a genuine challenge for the All Blacks.
To their credit, they responded. Damian McKenzie, a player very much in the Beauden Barrett mold, was now on. His hands and feet played their part in all of the 10 points New Zealand reserved, as they always used to, for the part of the match that hurts most—on this occasion, the last 15 minutes. Tele’a was worked over out wide with four minutes remaining. That proved sufficient. A fourth defeat in their eighth match of the season had been averted. But the watching world will have noted that England were only a coat of paint away from chipping off a few more layers from that black sheen.
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