Analysis: The third British & Irish Lions test was designed to be Beauden Barrett's 'Carter '05' moment
The All Blacks were down Ryan Crotty, Ben Smith, and then Sonny Bill Williams.
The narrow, power-packed, carry-heavy game plan that delivered them a 30-15 win in the first Test had come undone slowly in the second, as pivotal pieces to the system were lost and conditions deteriorated.
The same game plan could not be used to the same effect in the third and final decider at Eden Park with so many changes in personnel.
Ngani Laumape, Anton Lienert-Brown and Jordie Barrett each had their own strengths, and it was time to change things up and fight fire with fire against the growing confidence of the Lions’ width attack.
Beauden Barrett had been relatively quiet with ball-in-hand in the series to this point.
His touches at first receiver were almost non-existent in the first test. He had also taken a backseat on set-piece plays as the All Blacks looked to make the gain line with direct carries from power runners like Williams and the loose forwards.
In the second test, he had to drive the side through territorial kicking in the wet. The few valuable possessions in attacking zones were kicked away with no reward.
With the series on the line, it was time to free the reigning World Player of the Year in the biggest test of his starting career. It was designed to be his version of Dan Carter’s ’05 showing against the Lions in the second test.
Barrett’s two major strengths, his running game built on burning speed and pinpoint cross kicks, were given every chance to flourish as the All Blacks abandoned the midfielder-led forward-based attack.
From the very first attacking platform, the All Blacks showed a renewed desire to get the ball wide and into the hands of their star playmaker.
After a crash ball from Ngani Laumape flat off Aaron Smith on the first phase following a lineout, they showed a common look from the first two Tests – a pod of two forwards and a midfield latcher on the outside.
But this time, at the first opportunity, the ball was released out the back to Beauden Barrett (10) with the intention of playing wide.
The Lions’ midfielders were up to the task, giving Barrett nothing and forcing him back inside to carry.
It was an early sign that the All Blacks would try to get Barrett involved as much as possible, giving him numerous opportunities to make plays.
Moments later, following a quick tap from Aaron Smith, Laumape again sets up a midfield crash for Barrett to play off on the next phase the same way.
Following quick ball, Barrett takes on the line, using the one-on-one matchup with Sean O’Brien (7) to try to beat him on the outside.
With the outside defenders staying off him, Barrett punched through the line slightly with O’Brien tackling low.
Jordie Barrett (15) ran a beautiful line on the outside, working off-the-ball to get around Jonathan Davies to give his brother a support option.
The older Barrett delivered the offload to set the fullback free only for Savea to drop the last pass, leaving the opportunity begging.
In just the opening five minutes, the All Blacks had played with more width and tempo than almost the entire first two Tests.
Barrett’s first two touches were threatening, opening up the Lions on just the second run with an offload in contact.
The narrow attack pattern from the first Test had been altered, sending the midfielders and fullback back to more traditional setups.
Instead of keeping narrow and switching play back and forth every phase, they moved back to working the same way methodically to play with width.
Following a wide shift to the left-hand touchline, we see the All Blacks adjusted pattern for the third test.
Similar to the first carry in a traditional 1-3-3-1 pattern, a pod of three forwards carries off 9 with Barrett in behind on the first phase.
The second phase the same way consisted of a tight two-man pod, this time without a midfielder attached.
In the first two Tests, the two midfielders consistently lined up inside and outside the two-man pod, taking carries or late passes off the forwards.
Anton-Lienert Brown (13) is much deeper now, as an option in the backline should the ball come out behind the pod.
With Barrett tucked in behind the two-man pod, it would also provide a decent shield from which to deploy the cross-field kick.
With the All Blacks deep inside the Lions 22, we see this pattern emerge again except Barrett (10) is stuck inside the current ruck, leading to some irregularity with it.
The first pod of three is ready for a carry, with the second two-man pod stationed in the midfield.
The midfielders are deep, ready to organize the pods and fill in as distributors for Barrett, who is stuck in the ruck unable to perform his usual task.
Jordie Barrett (15) senses the cross-kick option is on and calls for a kick very early with his arm raised up.
After the first carry, the two-man forward pod readies for another carry, while Beauden Barrett (10) reloads on the far side.
Anton Lienert-Brown feigns the deep-to-flat inside line that Sonny Bill Williams ran frequently in the first test, staying back once the pass is made from 9.
Jordie Barrett (15) is still calling for the kick with a one-on-one aerial matchup on Elliot Daly present.
By the third phase, Beauden Barrett has heeded his brother’s call, jumping over to the other side of the ruck in order to make the play.
With a bit of protection from Lienert-Brown, Barrett launches the bomb.
Jordie Barrett climbs high above his counterpart and is able to bat the ball back infield into the path of Laumape, who scores the first try in the corner.
It’s a fast start for the All Blacks, up 7-0 and there’s already lots of involvement from Barrett – which was missing early in the first two Tests.
Beauden Barrett is involved in far more capacity in every facet of the game.
In nearly every set-piece play, he is used as the primary playmaker, getting plenty of touches to attack from.
There was no holding back as Barrett plowed into the Lions defence time and time again, looking to find a gap.
All his favourite plays from that period of time were brought out, including one he used to burn Conor Murray eight months earlier.
Using a 4-2 split from a midfield scrum, the All Blacks and the Hurricanes would use Barrett’s speed to skin sliding halfbacks forced to cover the 10.
With most defences covering the threat of the 8-9 the other way, Barrett looked to exploit the 4-on-3 overlap advantage on his side of the scrum with pure speed.
Barrett had beaten Irish halfback Murray on the same play the year earlier in Dublin.
This time Murray was up to the task, with help up top from Jonathan Davies that prevented the offload from getting away to the open Laumape.
Davies quickly learned from the opening minutes not to completely leave his inside man one-on-one with Barrett.
Barrett got the chance to run a ‘heads up’ version of almost the same play shortly after when the All Blacks won a tighthead scrum feed, only for the pass to bounce of his chest.
This was just one of many attacking opportunities that went begging, as spilled ball inside the Lions’ 22 ended the chances of scoring multiple times.
Using their adjusted phase play pattern, but this time from the right-hand touchline, the All Blacks used the two-man pod to release the backs with a smart set play.
If Jamie George (2) could be held where he is, the last two outside men in Jonathan Sexton (10) and Anthony Watson (14) would be up against grave odds to hold off the All Blacks backline.
With both Barrett brothers tucked in behind the two-man forward pod, a slick double ‘screen’ play to release the backs unfolded.
Beauden Barrett (10) got the ball out the backdoor from Retallick on the first screen, setting up a second screen pass between the brothers to seal the edge on Jamie George (2).
Codie Taylor’s (2) ‘unders’ line is meant to hold George, so Jordie Barrett can get on the outside of the English hooker.
George (2) doesn’t take the bait on Taylor (2), making a great read to close in on Jordie Barrett (15) out the back.
Barrett’s pass is rushed to Laumape, and another great read by Sexton dislodges the ball in contact.
Anton Lienert-Brown sensed an opportunity right outside Laumape and is seen charging into the open space off his outside shoulder.
Right on the edge of halftime, he got another chance to do so.
The All Blacks had already run multiple plays with Julian Savea (11) stacked in behind Barrett as a tight option to play a pop pass on either side of the flyhalf.
As they prepared to run another similar scheme, Owen Farrell (12) is hedging his bets, creeping inward in anticipation of tackling the stacked winger Israel Dagg (14) on a pop pass.
He is seen looking and walking inward to give Sexton help.
He loses alignment with Ngani Laumape (12), and Barrett makes him pay with a zinging face ball, putting his Hurricanes’ teammate into the gaping hole that also forces Jonathan Davies to leave his assignment to cover.
Davies closing in frees Lienert-Brown and a superb offload around the corner by Laumape sparks the movement and the All Blacks finally strike to take a 12-6 lead into the half.
The reality was though that they missed many opportunities to close out the game before oranges. The mountain of possession could have yielded 25 points, more than double what they did get.
The level of execution wasn’t quite there, although they completely opened up the playbook and played excellent rugby in spurts, all around Beauden Barrett.
This continued in the second half as the Barrett brothers pulled out another classic play from the Hurricanes’ playbook.
This was a variation of a play the two used during the Super Rugby season for their club, combining out the back to use Jordie Barrett as a playmaker on the edge.
The last pass went forward and another try-scoring opportunity was missed. The All Blacks made more first phase errors on the next two set-piece plays, leading to a momentum swing that the Lions used to draw level.
There were moments of brilliance from both Barretts, but history books will show a 15-all draw.
It won’t be remembered in the same breath as Dan Carter’s 2005 second test performance against the Lions, but if there was 10% better execution, it might have been. The All Blacks went full-Barrett, giving him full reign over the attack and opening up the playbook to run everything that suited him.
Part One: Analysis: The All Blacks’ game plan for the 2017 British & Irish Lions that got shelved
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Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
16 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
16 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
8 Go to comments