"don't think ford's ever missed a drop kick in his life" - 5 talking points: all blacks coach scott robertson & captain scott barrett react to win against england - ruck

THE ALL BLACKS HAVE MAINTAINED THEIR IMPRESSIVE FORM THROUGHOUT THEIR FIRST TWO FIXTURES OF THE AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES, WITH TWO WINS RECORDED OVER JAPAN AND ENGLAND. NEW ZEALAND HEAD COACH

SCOTT ROBERTSON AND HIS CAPTAIN SCOTT BARRETT HAD PLENTY TO SAY TO THE REPORTING MEDIA, AFTER THE RECENT WIN OVER ENGLAND AT THE ALLIANZ STADIUM. The match was decided in the most dramatic

fashion, with the Test settled by George Ford’s missed drop goal in the final play of the match. It was a devastating way for the fixture to end for England fans, after Steve Borthwick’s

side led by eight points, with 20 minutes to go at HQ. Robertson’s heart was still pounding as he arrived at the Allianz Stadium’s media centre, whilst his stone-faced skipper Scott Barrett

was as calm and composed as ever despite clinching the 24-22 win by the skin of their teeth. __ 1. ENGLAND HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN – ROBERTSON & BARRETT REACT TO NARROW VICTORY SCOTT

ROBERTSON: “I don’t think George Ford’s ever missed a drop kick in his life! You know, just probably every bit of emotion in the game, didn’t it? We showed lot of character. Stayed in the

fight for a long period time. 15 minutes to go coming down from eight down to win. That is pretty special moment for us as a group. “Look, I’m pleased, just as much as relieved. I’m pleased

because of how much care and effort, and, every game we’ve been in this year with the lead or we had a chance to win it. I’m pleased for the group, because it’s it means a lot to us and

galvanises us.” SCOTT BARRETT: I think they (England) had every opportunity to (win). Go back to the July series. They have been tight, three tight encounters, and tonight, they certainly

had the opportunity to put their nose in front. “Yeah, there’s a few arm wrestles, but I was pleased with our endeavor to play, and that created an opportunity with Mark (Tele’a) to put us

in front.” ------------------------- 2. ALL BLACKS CAPTAIN SCOTT BARRETT REACTS TO ENGLAND’S RESPONSE TO THE HAKA There was plenty of discussion around the Haka ahead of the match, with the

recently retired England prop Joe Marler adding fuel to the fire with his social media comments. England rallied as one in response to the Haka, as the marched shoulder to shoulder from

their 10m line to the half-way line. The All Blacks also advanced in the latter stages of their pre-match war dance, as they accepted the challenge ahead of the incredible Test match. SCOTT

BARRETT: “I think the week showed that there’s going to be plenty of feeling between the teams in regards to the Haka, and we expected a strong challenge, even before the whistle. So, yeah,

it was great, but you can certainly feel the atmosphere, and it was a special moment.” ------------------------- 3. WALLACE SITITI AND MARK TELE’A STAR FOR THE ALL BLACKS IN MEMORABLE

ALLIANZ VICTORY Two stand out players for New Zealand were without a doubt Wallace Sititi and Mark Tele’a. Starting with Sititi, the Chiefs man has established himself as a real breakout

star for the All Blacks, and the young blindside flank had a season-defining performance against England. Tele’a contributed New Zealand’s two tries in the comeback win, and took his

personal career tally to an impressive 12 tries in 17 Test matches. The first score had full plaudits to Sititi, as the back row executed an audacious offload to the wing, whilst being

double tackled by the Northampton duo of Tommy Freeman and George Furbank. Tele’a’s second try was all the work of the Aucklander, as he collected the ball in a narrow channel on the wing,

yet was able to spin past George Ford and power past Harry Randall on his way to the try-line. SCOTT ROBERTSON: (On Sititi) He’s an incredible man. Firstly, I think we just underestimated

what sort of a person he is, but the way he performs, the way he prepares, and he’s well above his years in maturity. Confidence on the field, just to make the right decision continuously is

incredible. Just keep stepping up, rising up. I’m not sure he’s going to have anything to do with that bottle of Bollinger (champagne) He might give that away, but he deserved it! “Yeah, if

you see it, do it! (Sititi’s offload to Tele’a) You back yourself. I think it’s part of the skill set and part of our DNA. We want to play footy, but we will take the opportunity in front

of us. We score some great tries, and more important, we showed a lot of grit to stay in it from behind and get found a way.” (On Tele’a) I thought there was some quality back three out

there. Mark Tele’a can score tries can’t he, he can finish! He’s just a world class finisher. He just knows how to get the try line and slip and beat a couple of people and put the ball

down. It’s a gift that he’s got. But I think there’s some incredible line breaks and great opportunities and the backfield aerial skills.There’s a lot of theatre tonight from the from both

sets in the back three.” ------------------------- 4. BEAUDEN BARRETT AMONGST A TRIO OF ALL BLACKS INJURIES POSSIBLY OUT OF IRELAND TEST Despite coming away from the Allianz in jubilant

celebration, the All Blacks had some unwanted issues to contend with from the physical on-field battle. Three of Scott Robertson’s players picked up injuries against England, as fly half

Beauden Barrett and hooker Codie Taylor failed Head Injury Assessments and lock Tupou Vaa’i sustained a leg injury. The question marks remain around their involvement for the upcoming Test

against Ireland. SCOTT ROBERTSON: Yeah, Beauden and Codie, both failed their HIA. Tupou, his legs should be alright. Just come out a bit cold after half time and he couldn’t get it going.

When asked by a New Zealand reporter whether the trio will be available against Ireland on Friday, Robertson said; “Get the doctor to answer that.” ------------------------- 5. ALL BLACKS

NEED TO ‘TIDY UP’ AHEAD OF THEIR INCOMING MATCH AGAINST IRELAND New Zealand’s packed schedule continues with trip over to Dublin, as they take on Andy Farrell’s Ireland under the Friday

night lights of the Aviva Stadium. Robertson has identified plenty of work-ons ahead of the trip to the Emerald Isle, with his side’s discipline at the forefront of the corrections. Anton

Lienert-Brown was sent to the sin-bin with just one minute left of the match, after the midfielder clashed heads with Theo Dan in a tackle attempt. SCOTT ROBERTSON: “We need to tidy up that

discipline, some execution errors. But keep creating, keep being brave and volunteer to play. So it’s like those little small margins, but we’ll definitely have to be better. Yeah, for

sure.” “Inaccuracy, that’s what ill discipline is. It’s inaccuracy and trusting the system. And we do a lot of work on it, but obviously we’ve got to own it in a different way, and then get

it out of our game because it’ll cost you in the end. But first thing is to own it. Put our hands up, be honest with each other, keep training it on the field, and make sure we execute.”