Wallaby Lalakai Foketi – one of the men at the centre of last week’s Bledisloe Cup controversy – has opened up on what went on in the final minutes of their agonising loss to the All Blacks.
Footage of Foketi screaming at teammate Bernard Foley to kick the ball out before French referee Mathieu Raynal awarded the All Blacks a controversial scrum feed for taking time wasting went viral in the minutes after the match.
According to Nigel Owens, Foketi’s actions were evidence that “time wasting” was occurring despite Foley saying he believed “time was off”.
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But Foketi said “personnel changes” had meant the forwards were trying to ensure sure they were all on the same page.
“I guess as a backs perspective, we were out there and we kind of had the same people on the field and we just felt like we had an opportunity to win the game when we kick the ball out,” he said.
“So that was what we were thinking and we were so far away from the ref and the crowd was going crazy (we) couldn’t hear anything.
“Obviously Nard (Foley) was looking at the forward pack huddled up and I think they were just trying to get their call ready for when we got the penalty and what we we’re going do in that last minute, so I don’t think everyone was on different pages.
“I just think that personnel changes and Nard was trying to figure out who was on the field and what calls was going on before we did our next move and that was to kick the ball out.”
The decision has divided the world, with former All Blacks greats Sir John Kirwan and Jeff Wilson the most recent to say that Raynal got the timing wrong to make a stand on time wasting.
“He had every right to make that decision, I think that in this case it wasn’t appropriate,” Wilson said on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown.
Despite the mind-blowing decision, Foketi said there was no reason for Foley to “apologise” and added that the ‘Ice Man’s cool head and leadership were pivotal in helping the Wallabies overturn a 31-13 deficit to take a late lead.
“There was no disbelief and no feeling that the All Blacks were going to run away from us,” he said.
“It was just the belief that in the leaders and Nard coming in staying controlled and giving us our next role and we just got to it.
“Being on the field at that time when we’re down a few points, I felt we were still in good stead to just keep doing what we were doing and keep in the game.
“That was the message that I felt we got from the leaders. Keep at it, stick to what we’re doing and stuff’s going to pay off.”
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Allan Alaalatoa, who took over the captaincy early in the second half and is set to keep the No.3 jersey despite Taniela Tupou’s return, said they had to channel their anger and make sure they learn from the painful experience.
“There was definitely disappointment over the weekend,” Alaalatoa said.
“But we sat down together as a group alongside our coaching staff and reviewed the game on Sunday and got a greater understanding of how we can be better, especially heading forward into this weekend at Eden Park.”
While All Blacks leader Sam Whitelock admitted he had never seen a decision like Raynal’s, he added that the Wallabies needed to be better at closing out matches.
Alaalatoa said the lessons had been learned.
“Now we’ve learnt that in the process of making those decisions, we need to be better, especially for myself as a leader and other leaders that were out there on the field at that time,” he said.
“I think one is getting a clear call and executing it straight away – they were the two learning points from that little scenario at the end of that game.”
While the Bledisloe Cup is gone for a 20th campaign, the Wallabies still have much to play for.
Not only have they not won in across the ditch against the All Blacks since 2001, they haven’t beaten the powerhouse rugby nation at Eden Park since 1986.
But more than anything, they need to prove to themselves – and the rest of the world – that they can respond from adversity and string consecutive matches together.
“That’s why you want to play is to be a part of these big games,” Alaalatoa said.
“The All Blacks look at Eden Park as their fortress.
“They’ll be confident off the back of back to back wins, playing at home there’s an expectation from the home crowd to get the win, so when you’re on the opposite team those are the games that you want to be part of.
“We’ve just got to make sure that we know all our details throughout the week, we understand how we want to play and then channel everything into Saturday.”
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Meanwhile, one person who won’t be there, however, is Rob Leota, after the Melbourne-based forward underwent surgery over the weekend to repair a ruptured Achilles.
It means he faces a long road back to participate in next year’s World Cup.
His absence will likely see a reshuffle to the pack, with lock Cadeyrn Neville firming for a recall which could see Jed Holloway shift to the back-row.
Whether Darcy Swain features remains to be seen, with the second-rower to face a judiciary hearing on Monday to determine if he has a case to answer after his attempted cleanout left Quinn Tupaea with a season-ending MCL injury.
Alaalatoa said Swain was left devastated by Tupaea’s injury.
“Seeing him after the game he was devastated,” Alaalatoa said.
“I think he was he was more devastated for Quinn.
“There was no intention there to injure him the way that he did.
“I think we definitely as players, and I’ve seen some of his close mates, just throw an arm around him because he’s copping a fair bit on social media at the moment, so we just want to make sure that mentally he’s doing all right.”
The news is better for acting skipper James Slipper, who is expected to be fit to play despite his early departure at Marvel Stadium last week.
