Unconvincing All Blacks fumble their way to 29-11 win over Italy in Turin

Sunday, 24 November 2024

All Blacks 29 (Cam Roigard 24', Will Jordan 39', Mark Tele'a 70', Beauden Barrett 80' tries; Barrett pen, 3 con) Italy 11 (Tommaso Menoncello 76' try; Pablo Garbisi 2 pen). HT: 17-6

Yellow cards: Scott Barrett (All Blacks) 20', Anton Lienert-Brown (All Blacks) 50’.

The All Blacks wanted to give veterans Sam Cane and TJ Perenara a memorable farewell party when they fielded a near full-strength line-up against Italy in Turin on Sunday morning (NZT).

They also wanted to remind the rugby world that while they hadn't produced a great season in terms of results, they still possessed the power and passion to put everyone on notice for 2025.

They did neither.

Yes, the All Blacks beat Italy 29-11 with halfback Cam Roigard, fullback Will Jordan, right wing Mark Tele'a and No 10 Beauden Barrett scoring tries, but anyone who says the All Blacks galloped to the finishing post would be deceiving themselves.

They got there in the end, but limped rather than sprinted.

It was the sort of fixture where you looked at the players' faces and wondered whether their minds were already on the sunshine and home cooking on offer back in New Zealand after five weeks on the road.

Openside flanker Cane and halfback Perenara, who took the field as a replacement in the 58th minute, will play in Japan after this season, and were used as examples of what it meant to represent the All Blacks.

Not surprisingly, their mates wanted to put on a big show for them. They couldn't do it.

Cane deserved all the hugs and high fives that he got when he was replaced by Peter Lakai in the 67th minute, a salute to his efforts since 2012, but he knew this effort from the team was nothing to rave about.

Where to start?

Discipline, again, was an issue.

Captain and lock Scott Barrett was yellow carded in the first half for an illegal crocodile roll at a ruck, and midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown was also sent to the side of the paddock for 10 minutes for handling the ball in a double-tackle while on defence.

Until the try in the 70th minute by Tele'a, the All Blacks spent much of the second half either conceding penalties or struggling to handle the ball properly. It must have been extremely frustrating for coach Scott Robertson and his assistants in their seats at Allianz Stadium, as their hopes of ending the tour on a chirpy note fell flat.

The All Blacks were expected to win this in a canter.

Remember, they had never been beaten by Italy and thrashed them when they last met in their pool game at the World Cup in France last year.

By the 60th minute the All Blacks had conceded 10 penalties, as Italy forced them to question themselves in the rucks, and although their scrum was excellent, it felt like they had ticked a box and that was that.

Italy got a huge cheer when midfielder Tommaso Menoncello scored his side's only try with four minutes left, which was cancelled out by a late score by Beauden Barrett. There were few other reasons for the crowd to get excited.

The crisp temperature couldn't have been trotted out as an excuse for sloppy execution from both sides, with the All Blacks underwhelming in multiple facets as they trudged their way to a 17-6 lead at the halftime bell.

Prior to the sin-binning of Scott Barrett in the 20th minute, the All Blacks trailed 6-3 as the Italians feasted on the bumbling beginning by the tourists and, having done their analysis, cleverly disrupted them at the breakdowns by sending in big units to harangue their opponents as they attempted to recycle quick ball.

It required a pinch of magic by Roigard, who along with blindside flanker Wallace Sititi has been one of the best performers for the All Blacks this season, to register the first try of the match as he demonstrated how dangerous he can be when given the chance to thread his way around the edge of a ruck.

A try from Jordan on the cusp of the end of the first stanza, followed by the conversion by Beauden Barrett, forced Italy to lament their lack of concentration moments from the break.

Roigard and Jordan's tries were rare highlights during a grim opening 40 minutes, as the error-rate from both teams climbed.

With limited chances to punish the Italians, the All Blacks had to remain cool when they breached the defensive lines. That was wishful thinking, it turned out.

A prime example was when Sititi made a wonderful break after he rampaged on to a pass by Beauden Barrett. After Jordan had followed in his footsteps and kept the movement going, Sititi re-entered the action only to send the ball tumbling forward as he attempted to send his fullback over in the left-hand corner.

An excellent tackle by Italy's left wing Monty Ioane halted Jordan earlier in the movement, and was a try-saving sack, but the All Blacks should have done much better when they got a second chance to hammer the Azzurri.

This was not a memorable effort. But the All Blacks got the job done.