All Blacks' frustrating win over Italy raises more questions for Razor

An exercise in frustration for the All Blacks has finished in a 29-11 victory against Italy in Turin this morning in what was their final Test of the year.

It means Scott Robertson has a 10-win, four-loss record in his first year in charge and he may have been thankful he had selected such a strong side for an Italian team ranked 10th in the world, one spot below Fiji.

Because, while they didn’t create much on attack, the home side defended with commitment and ingenuity in a bid to score their first ever Test win over New Zealand.

The result allows the All Blacks to send off veterans Sam Cane (104 Tests) and TJ Perenara (89) with a win but there was a lot elsewhere to dislike for a side who, four tries apart, struggled to create and maintain momentum against a team who constantly teetered on the edge of legality at the breakdown.

Robertson’s men also had to deal with two yellow cards – one in each half. This was the continuation of another unwelcome issue for the All Blacks in 2024.

Skipper Scott Barrett was the first to go due to a now illegal “croc roll” breakdown cleanout, with Anton Lienert-Brown sent to the bin for a ruck offence when the All Blacks were under a warning by referee Pierre Brousset.

They finished with a certain style, Beauden Barrett scoring in the final moments after Italy, boosted by a late try for second-five Tommaso Menoncello, which was celebrated long and hard, chipped over-ambitiously from their own line and the All Blacks No.10 could hardly believe his luck.

It came after Mark Tele’a’s try on the left – aided by a Barrett assist and the All Blacks’ huge advantage in territory and possession – effectively made the game safe.

But overall the Test was marred by mistakes, the referee’s whistle and near constant stoppages for questionable injuries and it all added up to a frustrating and difficult match to watch.

It was foreshadowed early.

An untidy start – halfback Cam Roigard kicking out on full and then having a kick charged down, within the first four minutes, gave way to more of the same.

New Zealand did not have the ball in Italy’s territory until 10 minutes into the game but then promptly lost it at the back of a maul and the home side executed an extremely popular 50-22 clearance to go straight back on attack.

Barrett was yellow carded for offence on Italy’s loosehead prop Danilo Fischetti and the frustration continued for the visitors, who watched as the Italians, taking a leaf out of a book provided by Ireland and France, made pests of themselves at the breakdown by continually grabbing at the ball, and therefore slowing it down, when not in legal positions to do so.

The lineout wasn’t working at an optimal level. The scrum was, however – not that it was consistently rewarded by the officials (another issue on this tour), but possibly most encouraging was the driving maul.

It was a rarity against England, Ireland and France but here it gained ground and provided momentum for the All Blacks and they could have gone to it more.

Roigard’s try after 24 minutes provided some relief, with Jodan’s 38th try in 41 Tests giving the visitors the breathing space they craved at halftime. The latter was a rare moment of attacking inspiration and execution coming together as one.

All up, it was a win but not the one they wanted, and Robertson and his men will go to the summer break with more questions about his first-choice No.10, Cane's replacement at No.7, and, overall, how they can create a consistency on attack that they failed to achieve this year.

All Blacks 29 (Cam Roigard, Will Jordan, Mark Tele’a, Beauden Barrett tries; Beauden Barrett pen, 3 cons)

Italy 11 (Tommaso Menoncello try; Paolo Garbisi 2 pens)

Halftime: 17-6