142-Test All Black veteran explains the 'courage' behind Ireland victory

It wasn’t the All Blacks‘ finest performance of the season, but a late flurry of tries and a momentum shift helped Scott Robertson’s side overcome a tough, but slightly undercooked, Ireland side in Chicago.

The impact of Robertson’s men from the bench was evident on Sunday morning, including the power and physicality of the likes of Samisoni Taukei’aho, Pasilio Tosi, Tamaiti Williams and the World Breakthrough Player of the Year for 2024, Wallace Sititi.

Beauden Barrett, who was without both of his brothers for the majority of the game due to nasty injuries, explains that the All Blacks were at their best in the last quarter of the game when they played to their strengths.

“It was a tough old day for the Barrett’s actually, we were all in the wars. Scooter’s got a big laceration, and Jordie’s pretty sore with a high ankle and a knee injury.

“I was just super proud of how we worked as a unit, as backline and as a team, to find solutions, to stay positive and find the way we wanted to play,” Barrett told the media in Chicago post-match.

“Ultimately, we executed that towards the back end of the game, when sometimes you can shut up shop, but we had a bit of courage there to move the ball at some times where, you know, in the past, we may have just played too conservatively and not backed ourselves.”

The 34-year-old pinpoints the bench impact as something that changed the game, which proved to be crucial in the second-half comeback in Chicago.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

43 - 21

50 - 40

23 - 26

31 - 20

18 - 15

26 - 52

33 - 19

17 - 25

13 - 26

14 - 28

3

Wins

4

1

Streak

1

20

Tries Scored

21

-1

Points Difference

47

2/5

First Try

4/5

2/5

First Points

3/5

1/5

Race To 10 Points

4/5

“I guess when I think back about the game, there was obviously some good impact from the bench, particularly the scrum, that was a highlight, Wallace Sititi played very well. Josh Lord came on very early and called the line outs and Leicester as well, huge impacts for us when we really needed the bench to stand up.

“The good thing was that we’re happy to play to the edges and give ourselves one-on-one opportunities, some of the athletes we have on the edges. That’s exactly why we’re happy to do that.

“I thought our loose forwards were exceptional tonight, carrying the ball well and getting those turnovers at key times, so I think they deserve a lot of credit for their success tonight,” Barrett said.

Sititi explains to media in Chicago that in the final 20 minutes against Ireland, the key was that the team was just trying to enjoy and express themselves.

“We’re just trying to enjoy ourselves and have fun out there. That’s the reason why we play rugby, you know and once you add on to the ball being able to express ourselves, I think that’s when we are most dangerous and like I said just happy to get the result out there.”

Despite the game being a bit stop-start in the opening 40 minutes, the 23-year-old loose-forward says that as soon as they started holding on to the ball, they were able to put Andy Farrell’s Ireland under pressure.

“It was a bit stop, start, especially throughout that first half, a few injuries and a few cards there, and we knew that once we held onto the ball, we were able to put some pressure on them. I think that’s what happened in the final 20 minutes.”