All Blacks' flat finale: Victory marred by underwhelming performance

By Liam Napier

A flop of a season finale.

The All Blacks farewelled respected centurion Sam Cane and veteran halfback TJ Perenara – as they finish their test careers and depart to Japan – with victory in their final outing of the year, but the collective performance fell decidedly flat.

This was a hemisphere away from the definitive lasting impression Scott Robertson sought to deliver after selecting his strongest available side for an opponent ranked tenth in the world.

The All Blacks saved one of their worst performances of the year – rivalled only by their loss to the Pumas in Wellington – for last.

After struggling to match the Italian physicality and cope with their defensive pressure, the All Blacks reverted to their dominant scrum and maul to squeeze out an underwhelming win that improved Robertson’s maiden season at the helm to 10-4 (a 71% win ratio).

Emerging from a deflating defeat against France in Paris last week, the All Blacks bookended their gruelling five-match northern tour by evoking more questions than answers.

With the end in sight, maybe the team hit the wall. Maybe they should have introduced more fresh legs and fringe players. On the basis of this performance, though, the All Blacks need serious improvements – none more so than with protecting their ruck ball.

Leading 17-6 after a sloppy first half, the All Blacks largely fumbled and bumbled their way to the finish. Mark Tele’a’s 70th-minute try marked the first points of the second spell and while Beauden Barrett’s late strike blew out the margin, the side’s inability to assert their authority was the overarching theme of this contest.

That they had to survive two yellow cards – one to Scott Barrett for a first-half croc roll cleanout, and Anton Lienert-Brown copping the second following repeat team infringements while defending their line – reflects the intense pressure they endured.

The All Blacks’ skill execution, discipline, lineout, carries and cleanliness in the collisions were all well short of standards. Wallace Sititi, Will Jordan and Cam Roigard impressed at times and Asafo Aumua added notable impact from the bench. Otherwise, though, there were few positives for the team.

It’s difficult to gauge Gonzalo Quesada’s Italian team. After a memorable Six Nations that included wins over Scotland, Wales and a draw with France, Italy were humbled 50-18 by the Pumas before battling to a 20-17 win against Georgia this month.

On this occasion, though, as they welcomed the All Blacks to the home of the Juventus football club for their debut in Turin, Italy fronted with passionate intent throughout.

For all their fight and heart, Italy fully deserved Tommaso Menoncello’s late try, which temporarily offered hope.

Italy succeeded by dragging the All Blacks into a dogfight. Their physicality, defensive line speed and breakdown pressure caused the side major frustrations, turning the contest into a slow, scrappy spectacle that suited Italy’s objectives to stay in the fight.

Plagued by poor ruck presentation and cleanouts that have haunted them in recent weeks, the All Blacks struggled to develop phase play continuity and build consistent pressure.

While Ethan de Groot’s return led an utterly dominant scrum platform, frustrations built elsewhere, with the All Blacks’ lineout misfiring badly on their ball to lose three throws.

Team captain Barrett’s yellow card for a croc roll cleanout – deemed to have threatened his opponent’s knees/lower limbs by shifting excess weight on this area – pushed his side further on to the back foot.

However, Barrett’s exit did not cost the All Blacks any points.

Roigard, despite dealing with bobbling ball at the base and Italian defenders manhandling him, eventually provided the brief spark with a trademark snipe to claim the opening try.

Even then, though, the All Blacks lacked patience and variety on attack. Before Jordan finally released the shackles late in the half with the second strike, the All Blacks were guilty of forcing passes and failing to finish rare line breaks.

The introduction of the team’s bench injected much-needed impact, but it wasn’t enough to deliver a definitive statement.

When the time comes to reflect, the All Blacks will note they were one point short of an unbeaten northern tour. Such a haul would have projected a narrative of progress and positivity.

But in the end, Robertson’s first season will be difficult to assess. Their 14th and final performance of the year leaves the lasting impression of uncertainty about where they stand.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission