It's also what makes him valuable in a team that loses big leads far too often.
I'd disagree. Barnes natural instinct to kick can be an asset, if you are capable of kicking like Carter, or Morne Steyn. But he's not. He tends to just boot the ball away, as if that's enough. Its not, all that happens is that *insert fast/strong/dangerous counterattacking All Black* catches it, launches the counter attack, and we end up under even more pressure than before the kick.
NZ grind out games by holding onto the ball in their own half, and utilising their superior mental control and patience to grind their way up field, where Carter will then put in the 20m, but very accurate, stabbing kick into the corner. It works because with such a small kick, its almost impossible to get to if you've no predicted where the kick will go. What we've been doing then is booting the ball as far as we possibly can, from anywhere on the field, and then failing to put in a concerted chase with big numbers. A massive punt stays in the air a long time, and gives the opposition back 3 much more time to react and get into position for the kick.
I'd put our success this year down to the fact that our counter attack is SO much more dangerous, and Cooper's tactical kicking has become a shitload more accurate. We've essentially taken the kiwi's tactic and used it against them. We saw the benefits in Hong Kong, when Donald buggered up his clearance, in the same fashion as the Wallabies of the last few years. The lethal counter attack got us back on their 22 in about 5 seconds, and the kiwi's were given no opportunity to marshall their defence and catch their breath, resulting in the JOC (James O'Connor) try.
For this reason i'm not a fan of pulling Barnes back into the team. Giteau is being solid, but unspectacular. His defence, whilst not being of the same 'offensive defence' style as Fainga'a or Barnes, is holding up, and his recognised status will always mean that he attracts defenders. As such, i'm not really convinced that he needs to be dropped. Just because he's not being the superstar player we're used to, does not mean he's playing badly. Its just that Beiber, Beale and Cooper have taken over the 'flashy young up-and-comers" tag that Gits held for so long.
IF you were wanting a different style of play in the 12 jersey, without disrupting the current flow of the backline, i'd go with Fainga'a. His first instinct is to run straight and hard, rather than step/crab/lose momentum like Giteau. Barnes is more direct, but kicks too much. With the backline performing as it is, you want to give them as much ball as possible, so IMO the addition of Barnes would add a negative influence.
Fainga'a and Barnes are equally as 'offensive' in their defence, so the argument would come down to who would better suit the current style of play. I'd say that Fainga'a's willingness to take the ball hard into contact and get forward momentum, along with his reluctance to boot the ball away, would suit the backline more at this stage. I just think Barnes would mess with the flow too much by kicking away good counterattacking ball.
