Leading rugby writer and former England international Stuart Barnes has defended describing the All Blacks as "dumb", after their miserable outing against Argentina at Christchurch.
Barnes didn't hold back in his assessment of the All Blacks' 25-18 defeat in the UK's Daily Telegraph, describing their performance at Orangetheory Stadium as "stupid", beginning with coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane.
"I never thought I would describe the All Blacks as dumb, but in Christchurch, they were as stupid as Argentina were smart," he wrote.
Speaking to AM, Barnes says the All Blacks display left him bewildered, particularly with the hosts' persistent infringement at the breakdown, where the Pumas clearly had the upper hand.
"I'm pretty certain, when I sat down to write my column after the game, I was in a state of shock and when I filed it, I thought 'that was pretty inflammatory'," said Barnes.
"I say that because, in my long rugby life, I've always respected New Zealand, not just for the skill of the game, but for the intelligence of it.
"When an NZ team makes so many errors, and gets so many things wrong in terms of the breakdown and offside, that's something New Zealand have been the masters of throughout my pretty long life in rugby.
"To see that was a shock, hence the use of the word 'dumb'."
The result wasn't the only aspect that had left him flabbergasted, but also the nature of it, as the Pumas exploited areas where the All Blacks had traditionally been the standard bearers.
"I was stunned, not so much to see them lose, because that aura has slipped away at the moment, but to see them lose in a way where they were outthought even more than they were outfought," noted Barnes, who played 10 tests for England at first-five from 1984-93.
"They won a lot of set-piece ball, they had quite a lot of territory, but Argentina were sharper where it mattered, which was mentally, and that shocked me."
Barnes has doubled down on his opinion that both Foster and Cane are unfit to hold their roles, and are indicative of a lack of leadership he believes hasn't been addressed since Richie McCaw hung up his boots.
"I don't think they've ever really replaced McCaw as a captain, and the appointment of Ian Foster - who is a very smart rugby man and a good coach, but not necessarily the No.1 - has left them in a hole," he opined.
"Foster saw Sam Cane as his man. I don't think Cane is good enough to wear an NZ No.7 shirt, let alone be captain.
"I think you've got this waterfall of problems all the way down from appointment of Foster, through to the appointment of Cane, through to decision-making and you end up with one real leader in Ardie Savea, but he's being asked to do so much."
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