All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett has cast doubt on whether his decision to take a shot at goal as the clock ticked down during the narrow defeat to France in Paris, rather than go for the corner and a try, was the right one.
There were just over six minutes remaining of a frantic Test at the Stade de France this morning when referee Nika Amushakeli awarded the visitors a penalty about 40m out and in front of the posts.
Barrett, his team facing a 30-26 deficit, decided to go for the points rather than kick for the corner and attempt the try which may have won the All Blacks the match.
It may have been the wrong decision, he said afterwards. There was of course no guarantee that the All Blacks would have crossed the line but they at least would have had possession deep within France's territory.
Watch Scotty Stevenson and Patrick McKendry analyse the controversial thriller on TVNZ+
A moment of magic would have probably done it. As it was, Damian McKenzie kicked the penalty which narrowed the gap to 30-29, more time had gone from the clock, and the All Blacks still required a moment of magic to win it but from their own try-line.
"I was really torn, actually, on that," Barrett said. "Could go to the corner — four points behind, put ourselves in front. Equally, we get back and five minutes to go, we get down there and it's a one-shot play."
"We could have gone for the corner, on reflection," he conceded. "We could have gone for the win. I'll reflect on that and learn from that [and whether] it was the right decision. Potentially not."
It was a case of another All Blacks captain leaving the northern suburbs of the French capital with a sense of regret after Sam Cane's red card in the first half of the World Cup final at the Stade de France just over 12 months ago.
And like in that heartbreaking defeat to the Springboks when two missed kicks at goal were so costly in a 12-11 defeat, Barrett and company had opportunities to put the game beyond France this morning but failed to finish them.
Rieko Ioane's knock-on, when put into space by Beauden Barrett in front of the posts in the final minutes, was hugely costly, as were some poor pass selections by the visitors who had shown few such frailties in an excellent and encouraging first half.
"I'm really proud of our efforts and how hard we worked for each other," coach Scott Robertson said.
"We created so much and didn't finish and that's the tough part. We played some really good footy and there were a couple of little moments when the game swung their way, especially before and after halftime.
"We never put enough scoreboard pressure on them and the crowd stayed in it and they stayed in it. We had a couple of opportunities in the end to win it but well done to France, they showed a lot of courage and spirit and defended stoically."
Watch Scotty Stevenson and Patrick McKendry analyse the controversial thriller on TVNZ+
Robertson was right to commend France's defence, which was water-tight in the second period. They also outscored the All Blacks three tries to two, with two of their tries coming after the break.
The All Blacks, who kept the ball in hand in the hope of stretching the French, did just that as they ran up a 17-10 halftime lead, with Peter Lakai and Cam Roigard scoring two superbly-taken tries on the back of a dominant set piece.
Alas for the All Blacks and the game in general, the near constant stoppages in the second half — during which time the Television Match Official and the "foul play" TMO — robbed the visitors of momentum.
It also robbed them of scoreboard advantage, with the French beneficiaries of several debatable calls from those officials sitting behind television monitors.
Asked about those frequent interventions and the validity of them, Robertson would say only: "It's very hard for me to talk about it. I'd have to watch the game again. We would have liked to have kept the ball in play a bit more and kept the fatigue in the game."
With the outstanding Tamaiti Williams and his fellow front rowers dominant again, the All Blacks had the French back-peddling at the set piece. But like in their previous two Tests, excellent wins over England and Ireland, the All Blacks were not rewarded by the officials for that dominance.
"I thought we scrummaged extremely well," Robertson said. "We showed some really good pictures and … we probably didn't get the reward for that that we felt we earned."
The killer, of course, was the go-ahead try for left wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey after 51 minutes. It came seven minutes after the French had tied up the game with their second try and, devastatingly for the All Blacks, it came after a pass from Tupou Vaa'i to Will Jordan failed to go to hand.
"That was the big moment, it was a 14-pointer wasn't it," Robertson said. "If it goes to hand we score. They kicked it through and Bielle-Biarrey scores … that was their moment and it gave them a lot of belief."
The All Blacks would have further opportunities in their 13th Test of the year but couldn't make them stick. It just wasn't their night.
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