These are the losses that haunt a team — the All Blacks, having had the French right where they wanted them, left to rue another night of what ifs, and could haves, and if onlys.
In the end, one point was the difference, which would have only served to remind certain members of the team of the scoreline the last time the All Blacks played a test match at Stade de France.
One player who would not have needed reminding of that was Sam Cane who sat in the stands and must have wondered how things might have turned out if he had been on the field on this occasion or had stayed on it the last time.
I'll bang my well-worn drum here. Cane has been immense for the team this season, and he was sorely missed in Paris. That is to take nothing away from another empty-the-tank performance from Ardie Savea, or another night of high impact carries from Wallace Sititi, or indeed almost 78 minutes of a new hit musical entitled "The Potential of Peter Lakai".
However, this loose forward trio, as exciting and as talented as they are, lacked for balance in the big moments, and the French took full advantage of that.
Watch Scotty Stevenson and Patrick McKendry analyse the controversial thriller on TVNZ+
Granted, Samipeni Finau was likely selected to be the grunt guy at the breakdown and his night ended almost before it began thanks to a stray French knee. But even had the blindside flanker stayed on the field, there would have been questions about who was going to work the French over around the ruck.
This is Cane's stock-in-trade, the proprietary hardware that allows the other loosies to operate in the wider channels both offensively and defensively. Savea thrives in this role, and Sititi's innate skills make him perfectly suited to operate in similar fashion on the opposite side of the field. That leaves the middle as the battleground upon which New Zealand needs an experienced warrior.
Cane wasn't there, and Peter Lakai is not Sam Cane.
That is no criticism of the kid. Lakai showed glimpses of genuine brilliance in this Test, but his natural inclination is to be more like Sititi and Savea than Cane. The All Blacks have been luckless in terms of injuries to their opensides. Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali'i and Ethan Blackadder have all been hobbled in one way or another this season, but Cane's out-and-out ownership of the seven jersey since his return from Japan had, until this weekend, made that a moot point.
On Saturday night in Paris, with the All Blacks operating a game plan that suggested kicking would be a crime punishable by death (to which I say, bravo and bang on) Savea and Sititi both had a commission to carry wide and to defend outside the edge of the ruck. It felt for periods in the first half, and certainly for that fraught 10 minutes after the break, that the French had realised the up the guts phase play route was theirs for the taking. It was. They stayed in the game on the back of All Blacks mistakes, yes, but the construction of the Boudehent try four minutes into the second half drove a dagger through the heart of New Zealand's ruck defence.
Balance. It's a tricky concept to master in test match rugby, especially when the game plan is to create chaos. Head coach Scott Robertson noted as much in his post-match comments, lamenting the fact the many stoppages in play made it tough for the All Blacks to create the fatigue they were looking for. That quest for high-octane, enterprising rugby has been obvious from the start of the season, and there have been signs this team was coming to grips with just what that requires. Cane's no-nonsense stewardship of the defensive breakdown was one of the keys to unlocking that attacking potential, allowing Savea and Sititi to run riot, and to pick their moments to affect great defensive plays.
On Saturday night, the All Blacks tilted a few degrees too far, allowing themselves to be exposed, despite dominating the set-piece and enjoying a wealth of possession.
There will be talk about Scott Barrett's decision to go for posts with six minutes remaining and his team four points in arrears, and there will be discussion about the impatience that returned when the All Blacks had earned the right to be within striking distance: Will Jordan's speculator to Caleb Clarke with a shortball option available, and Beauden Barrett's grubber option with the line beckoning and the All Blacks proving more than competent in stringing high phase counts together two such examples.
There will also be much discussion about the late interventions of the television match officials. All of which are grist for the mill, and none of which are without merit in the summary of facts pertaining to this match.
However, there will be a broader concern to attend to, which is how does New Zealand find the right trio of loose forwards to cover all the bases. With Cane's All Blacks career now at an end, that is one question that remains unanswered.
SHARE ME