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'Below the line': The cheap shot that sparked All Blacks captain Scott Barrett
By Ben Smith
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett has revealed what exactly set him off in the first half against Ireland as tempers flared early in the contest.
Barrett was seen scragging opposition lock Joe McCarthy by the collar and locked into a war of words as players from both sides tried to separate them.
The All Black captain told media after the match that he had spotted a "below the line" incident that forced him to step in and deal with.
"I don't usually take exception but I saw something that I guess was below the line for me," Barrett said.
"I had to make a point that, it's not tonight you are targetting our No 10 [McKenzie] like that.
"They play hard, they're a great team, physical team, great with ball-in-hand, it was just the one moment there."
Barrett rushed into the forming melee and appeared to mouth "don't you do that" at McCarthy multiple times.
The enforcer clarified that he saw what he believed to be a high shot with a shoulder to a defenceless player on the ground, chief playmaker Damian McKenzie.
"I was getting up from a ruck, from where I saw it it looked like Damian was on the ground and Joe [McCarthy] cleaned him up," he said.
"From where I saw it, it looked like it was around his head. Whether it was or not, I'm not sure.
"I took exception to that in that moment, it may not have been but I'm not too sure."
"It looked like a shoulder to a man on the ground who was our 10."
The actions sparked the All Blacks in a positive way, Barrett was one of the best on ground for the All Blacks pack and Damian McKenzie ended up being named man-of-the-match for piloting the victory.
McKenzie kicked six penalties and had a hand in the lead up to the try to Will Jordan as the All Blacks beat the number one ranked side 23-13 in their own backyard.
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Latest Comments
Lakai? Hell no, Kirifi is the like for like. I could never imagine Lakai throwing a dummy like Ardie, his had’s and offload are probably his best asset. Still a good option to replace Ardies function within the group. Happy for that to phase in slowly over the next two years.
Kirifi is someone demanding attention as Ardie’s/the teams go to back up option though. Like with you’re Kaino ref though, happy for that to reverse back again if Lakai simply starts outperforming him again. The Kaino role has really been filled by Cane (perhaps because they didn’t find a replacement) and the 6’s that have been used are more like a Read/Jones/Flavell/Fifita.
I really do like the idea of that rock being a little bigger and a little tougher than Cane though. Miracle looks like that guy, and there are few possible young kiwis coming through too. Barrett over Vaa’i for me, he just has a little of the mongrol and flair you also want.
Go to commentsI think you have gone in the wrong direction here Nick. I think you need to delve down into the rules etc around Moana Pacifica’s selection policies and then you need to understand that a lot of KIWI BORN rugby players have PI heritage. It appears ok for the 4 home nations to pillage NZ born players constantly without retribution but you want to question whether NZ BORN players should be eligible for NZ? Seems a real agenda in there.
Go back and look at the actual Aims and agenda for MP becoming a entity and you see lots of things enshrined in policy that you arnt mentioning here. EG there is an allowance for a percentage of MP to be NZ eligible. This was done so MP could actually become competitive. Lets be real. If it wasnt this way then MP would not be competitive.
There also seems to be some sort of claim ( mainly from the NH ) that NZ is “cashing in” on MP, which , quite frankly is a major error. Are you aware of how much MP costs NZR Financially?
39 NZ born rugby players played at the last world cup for Samoa or Tonga. PLUS plenty for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.
Taumoefolau is a BORN AND BRED NZer. However I very strongly doubt he will be an AB, but who do you believe he should be allowed to play for? Levi Aumua is ALSO a born and bred Kiwi.
Aumua was eligible to represent Samoa and Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup in July that year but ended up playing for neither. He IS eligible for his nation of Birth too Nick
He is a Kiwi. Are you saying an NZ born, raised Kiwi cant play for NZ now?
Sorry Nick Kiwi born and bred actually qualify for NZ.
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