Scott Barrett, Damian McKenzie and Wallace
All the Sititi made significant gains against Ireland, and Sititi – one of Scott Robertson’s few forays into the unknown and a selection of real insight and significance – received few bouquets after the All Blacks victory 23-13. However, in many ways, it was his best performance yet, or rather, his most important.

Sititi, already player of the year for his ability to beat defenders, made a different change against Ireland. It was a game of blood and guts, tackling with intensity, working your way through rucks and mauls and retaining the ball when the Irish justifiably singled you out for extra defensive attention. No mistakes or misjudgments, just hard clinical work.

The All Blacks have been waiting years to say they have solved the number 6 blindside flanker dilemma after the loss of Jerome Kaino and Liam Squire. Now? Challengers for that jersey, including Ethan Blackadder, Samipeni Finau and Dalton Papali’i, face a long wait for their next chance.

Man of the Match McKenzie spoke after the test about the importance of doing the little things – a rugby version of the old saying “look after the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves”. Sititi did the same, and it will have warmed the hearts of his coaches that he has shown himself to be so capable in the grunt, grind and grab, as well as retaining that ability to beat the first tackler and break through the defensive line. I remain one of those who would love to see him at No. 8 with Ardie Savea moved to No. 7, but we simply can’t argue with the identity and formation of the All Blacks at the moment.

McKenzie had his coming-of-age moment in the number 10 shirt; a performance based on less rushed runs and more on a test-quality first five that uses their judgment and skill to find the best way to control the game; his hand kicks improved a lot. I was one of the few who lamented Beauden Barrett’s return to first five starters against England because I felt, as Robertson used to say, that McKenzie needed to keep the car keys for a while. There is the proof.

However, another standout player on the day was captain Scott Barrett. He hasn’t easily become a captain, but his game against Ireland was fantastic. Like Sititi, he was heavily involved in the hard stuff: carrying, tackling, a big influence on rucks and mauls.

It was encouraging to see him catch Joe McCarthy after Barrett felt the big Irish lock had fired a cheap shot, landing on or near McKenzie’s head. The resulting confrontation was revealing: Barrett’s body language was that of an offended leader; McCarthy is that of someone who knew he had transgressed. As a moment of leadership, Buck Shelford couldn’t have done better.

We must not lose sight of the fact that this was Ireland’s first test since July and their ring rust meant they made even more mistakes than the All Blacks, but it was still a victory of commitment and controlled passion. The famous coach of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, coined the saying: “Confidence is contagious; so is the lack of trust.” This test match brought the All Blacks closer to the former and further away from the latter.

They will play a better and fitter Irish team than this one, even if they were given extraordinary freedom in offside or slowing the ball in the rucks. Lombardi also said: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all,” and the Irish, a little undercooked, were blowing hard, desperate to loosen the control and iron defense of the All Blacks.

So, returning to our theme of one player not being part of a rugby team (but three can), across the channel at Twickenham, Joe Schmidt’s team Wallabies achieve surprise victory over England. If you read some match reports you’d think their 21-year-old NRL import Joseph-Aukuso Suaallii had won it on his own.

Fullback Tom Wright was the real man of the match, regularly attacking the English defense, as poor as it was combative against the All Blacks; Forwards Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight had impressive games. However, Sua’alli’i is without a doubt the future. Parachuted into a top-level test match for his first professional rugby match, his 1.96m and 100kg frame was one thing; His skills with the ball are different. He was less involved in the game than some believed, but what we saw was pretty impressive:

He is still not Jonah Lomu (he has more of Israel Folau) and he did not have the debut that the hype would have you believe. But he could be a player who can light up the Wallabies.

All Blacks-France, Sunday 9:10 am

Live commentary on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio. Live match blog nzherald.co.nz