Aaron Cruden’s gutsy call
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that tap kick and I don’t think that many others watching the game on TV or at the ground could either.
I thought I was watching a replay and had to rewind, just in case. No, he had tapped it alright and hared off.
For those who didn’t see it: the New Zealanders were their usually rusty selves in their first game together for the season and their fans waited patiently for them to start playing like real All Blacks. Not many apart from Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith and Conrad Smith did.
The inexperienced Pom side, who had rested many players who had played for Northampton or Saracens in the Aviva Premiership final the previous weekend, had played better than expected. Were in not for a few handling errors by the fatties (and their smaller team mates too, come to think of it) they could have scored a few tries. But at least they were tied up with seven minutes to go when Danny Cipriani kicked a pressure goal to make the score 15-15.
No tries had been scored and players like Manu Tuilagi, Ben Morgan and skipper Chris Robshaw were playing out of their skins for the Poms, and the visitors just needed to take one opportunity to get a famous win.
Instead it was the All Blacks who got a chance to pull a game out of their arses, one more time, but how they did so was amazing.
Aaron Cruden – others suggested it but it was his call
With the game tied, and five minutes to go, New Zealand got a penalty kick on the 40 metre-line and near-enough in front. England had only one player on their left-hand side of the field: “Spiderman” Johnnie May, and the All Blacks had three on their right side: TJ Perenara (on debut), Victor Vito and Beauden Barrett—Hurricanes all.
Cruden got the call from the Canes’ players that half the England team had their backs turned waiting for the shot at goal, and they should have a crack. I suspect Barrett. But Cruden had the ball in his hands, not them.
He had a quiet word to referee Nigel Owens to get out of the way, tapped the ball and gave it to Barrett who ran like the wind. McCaw, who had his hands on his head resting, was just behind Cruden and probably didn’t believe what was happening. But he joined the party; had to.
The Poms turned at the shout from the crowd, or from May, the only guy who stayed on watch. The thing that saved England immediately was that the Black Riders had to cover 40 metres; so they had time to run over to help May.
Barrett passed the pill to Vito running the inside line and he looked in for all money as he stepped inside Cipriani, but somehow reserve prop Henry Thomas ankle-tapped him. It was a normal goal-line struggle now and Wyatt Crockett was held up, just short. Five-metre scrum, about eight metres from touch.
By this time Cruden would have been shitting bricks; but the Poms were a man short out wide because they had lost winger Marland Yarde to the bin before—surely the Blacks could score out wide?
They played narrow: Jerome Kaino took the ball from the back of a scrum being moved by England, got tackled and then Vito had a crack. Stopped. May looked up from his corner spot to see both Ben Smith and Conrad Smith in front of him. Before his scream could be heard Perenara made the right decision and passed to Ben, who May had to rush to, but he had already passed to Conrad, who scored next to the corner post.
By the time the relieved Cruden missed the conversion England had only a minute left to get the ball back and do something. They got a lineout but then were penalised 30 metres out from happiness and that was that: NZ won 20-15.
It was a superb effort from a scratch England team, set pieces included, but they did no favours for Australia because they probably scared the All Blacks into form for the rest of the winter.
