Ian Foster and Dave Rennie take opposing views on missed drop goal opportunities
One of the biggest talking points around the drawn Bledisloe Cup test on Sunday was the decision of both the All Blacks and Wallabies not to attempt a drop goal late in the match.
Had either side tried to score a three-pointer at any point throughout the nine-minute-long injury time period, we may be talking about a win to one of the two teams instead of the 16-all draw that opened the four-match series in Wellington.
Instead, both the All Blacks and Wallabies spurned chances to take a shot at the posts from handy positions after the full-time whistle, and the coaches of both sides have offered differing viewpoints on what could have been a winning moment.
Despite his side’s insistence on driving the ball towards the line with the forwards, All Blacks head coach Ian Foster backed his team’s decision to keep the ball in hand.
Speaking to media after the game, Foster said there was plenty of deliberation among his coaching staff about what the best option was late in the match.
Despite being parked up right in front of the Australian posts, the All Blacks persisted with carrying the ball through their forwards, with one attempt to go wide fizzling out due to a sloppy pass by TJ Perenara which forced Jordie Barrett to the ground.
Foster believed that was the right option to take, but said the lack of skill execution prevented his side from capitalising on the opportunity that had been handed to them.
“We had a number of opinions in the [coaches] box, but no, we were well set-up,” he said.
“I thought we’d calmed ourselves down, we were well set-up under the goalposts for a drop kick, and I think you’ll see Richie was hovering around in that position.
“But Jordie called the ball, and it was actually a pretty solid decision because George Bridge was pretty well unmarked.
“That’s skill execution, we couldn’t get the ball out where it needed to be. That hurts, but it’s a message to us all that test rugby is back, and if you’re not good enough in those big moments, then you don’t get what you want.”
He might have impressed off the bench in his test debut, but Caleb Clarke was left with his heart in his mouth following an injury time error.https://t.co/rWcMluiXDd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 12, 2020
While Foster defended his players’ decision, Wallabies boss Dave Rennie took a more blunt approach, labelling his side’s inability to line up a shot at goal as an “opportunity lost”.
Moments before the All Blacks threatened to steal the match deep into injury time, Australia had a chance of their own to clinch their first victory against the hosts on New Zealand soil in 19 years.
An 83rd minute penalty attempt by Reece Hodge from inside his own half clanged against the upright, but a spillage from the rebound by Caleb Clarke allowed the Wallabies to retain possession and push for a winning score.
Similarly positioned to the All Blacks at the opposite end of the field, the visitors could have sealed an unheralded victory with a drop goal from a favourable spot on the park, but an Ardie Savea turnover was enough to save the All Blacks on their own tryline.
Rennie revealed post-match that his side had practised for a drop goal scenario in the week leading into the test, but suggested a lapse in communication might have been the reason behind the attempt that never came to fruition.
“We practised it during the week. James O’Connor dropped back in the boot, not sure what happened there around communication, but we ended up going a little bit wider than that and turned it over,” he said.
“Opportunity lost, obviously.”
From a missed chance to take a drop goal to Rieko Ioane's mishap, there was plenty to digest from Bledisloe Cup I. #BledisloeCup #NZLvAUS https://t.co/Ga4vesX6Tj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 11, 2020
Speaking to media on Monday, All Blacks first-five Richie Mo’unga, who was on the field in the dying stages of the game, admitted the idea of taking a shot at goal was there
“Yeah, they sure did,” he said when asked if the thought of taking a drop goal had “come into the picture”.
“There was a couple of times when I dropped into the pocket, but momentum had us and we looked likely to score, so drop kick wasn’t in the question as we were going forward.
“Had Jordie got the pass, or had we got the pass away, we wouldn’t really be talking about drop kicks, but [it] definitely was in my mind, but I felt like we were going forward and could have scored.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments