All Blacks vs England takeaways: Richie Who? Time for Cortez

The All Blacks were made to work hard for a 24-17 win in the second Test against England to close out the series 2-0.

First five Damian McKenzie was influential while the set piece had its issues. The first debutant of the year saw the field and made an immediate impact.

Here are four takeaways from a New Zealand perspective from the second Test win over England.

Richie Who’unga? 

So many column inches have been dedicated to discussion around if and when Richie Mo’unga will be back in black but after two Tests against England it is clear that the All Blacks don’t need Richie. Having Mo’unga is definitely a luxury and no doubt he is wanted, but he is not needed.

Chiefs playmaker Damian McKenzie, who has been a long servant of New Zealand Rugby, is in career best form right now and has taken the No 10 jersey with two hands. We saw it in Mendoza against Argentina last year, McKenzie was brilliant that day.

The former fullback who dazzled at Super level for many years with unpredictability and daring play has refined his game for Test level. Against England there were no hair-pulling errors, wild passes or low percentage plays. McKenzie was a steady presence in both Tests, piloting the All Blacks with control and poise.

Aside from the shot clock fiasco in Dunedin and a couple missed shots at goal, he was putting together a maestro performance with ball-in-hand. His distribution was on the money and he found the edge frequently. His kicking game was key, coming up with an assist for Sevu Reece, while under the high ball he was fantastic.

At Eden Park he sparked two long range breaks that were eventually bombed and tries went begging. Outside of McKenzie’s playmaking, the All Blacks had no other line breaks. He eventually put Beauden Barrett through the gap for Mark Tele’a’s match-winning try.

Once Cortez Ratima was on the park, his No 9 at the Chiefs, and Beauden Barrett at his fullback, the All Blacks’ attack changed for the better and they were able to increase the tempo.

Barrett and McKenzie were the dynamic duo the All Blacks were investing in leading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Over the 2017-18 seasons at 10 and 15 they were excellent, before McKenzie’s injury struck. Based on the final quarter at Eden Park, it is a partnership that deserves a revival in 2024.

Set piece woes

The set piece was a mixed bag at Eden Park with the scrum returning to dominance and delivering a strong platform, but the lineout was absolutely diabolical.

Captain Scott Barrett put it down to communication issues and a couple of botched calls, while there were a couple of bad execution errors on the maul formation.

In Dunedin Codie Taylor was near flawless in the first half before the lineout became an issue in the second.

Yes England have some world class threats disrupting ball like Maro Itoje, but so will the big boys Ireland, France and South Africa later this year.

The All Blacks can’t waste that much ball and opportunity to launch down the line.

If Taylor’s lineout continues to be inconsistent, you might as well have Asafo Aumua out there who can deliver more with ball-in-hand and bring unmatched power to the carry game.

When Taylor was mowed down early in the first half after McKenzie’s chip and regather, the comment was made in the media box that Dane Coles would’ve scored that. Well, Aumua might have too.

Still lacking killer instinct

It was almost a repeat of the first Test with the All Blacks not taking there opportunities in the first half, England striking right on half-time, building a lead in the second half only for the All Blacks to surge home in the final quarter.

As expected, the All Blacks are working things out but the lack of killer instinct is apparent. There were two big misses in the first half.

Damian McKenzie’s brilliant chip and regather ultimately put Codie Taylor in open space. He had Sevu Reece outside with some distance between the next defender. A long but difficult pass would have certainly seen Reece score. Taylor tucked and ran, ultimately mowed down before a desperate fling.

The next chance was again from a McKenzie-orchestrated break on a kick return, with the No 10 spinning out of a tackle and finding Tele’a and Stephen Perofeta.

Perofeta had two men inside unmarked, Finlay Christie and Jordie Barrett, and Tele’a on the outside. He went outside and pushed the pass too early, not drawing the final man Freddie Steward into contact. That minor detail was vital and the All Blacks bombed a certain try.

The inside ball would’ve seen Christie or Barrett under the posts, while committing Steward would have also seen Tele’a scamper around closer to the poles.

The difference was visible when Beauden Barrett at fullback delivered his final pass to Tele’a, at the last second to commit the last defender.

Taking those chances and getting up by 21-7 changes the complexion of the game, putting a ton of scoreboard pressure on England and forcing them to chase.

Time for Cortez

Chiefs halfback Cortez Ratima made his debut against England coming on in the second half but it might be time for the young No 9 to get the starting job.

Finlay Christie produced a solid defensive game, assisting on multiple turnovers and pressuring England’s No 8, but the All Blacks need that speed of delivery in the way that Aaron Smith used to offer.

After the All Blacks bombed the Tele’a opportunity they were afforded a five metre scrum. Under penalty advantage with an open side set-up, Christie was stripped by Alex Mitchell while picking up the ball from the base and taxiing off before passing. That strip killed the free opportunity and the All Blacks settled for three.

He doesn’t pass quickly enough straight off the deck like Cortez. He’s an upright passer that picks the ball up, half stands and makes the pass from the stomach area. At Test level that half second matters.

Time and time again we see Christie get stripped or disrupted at the ruck and his passing technique is a big reason why.

Tele’a’s second try off the Beauden break came from phase play where the All Blacks didn’t have superior gain line but fast ruck speed. A Jordie Barrett cross kick to Anton Lienert-Brown took play to the right touchline.

From there, the All Blacks went three phases back to the left with Ratima’s delivery creating the tempo.

The speed of the recycle and Ratima’s fast delivery caught England short of numbers and helped create the wide gap for Barrett to run into.