AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- The British & Irish Lions have given up a whopping 24 penalties compared with the All Blacks' 15 across two Tests, but in doing so they have succeeded where just about every other side on the planet has failed through the past 12 months: limiting the impact of Beauden Barrett.
The World Rugby Player of the Year has been in sparkling form with the Hurricanes again this season, with his running game, in particular, tearing open opposition defences while the likes of Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso have provided the direct route further along the backline.
But Barrett has broken the line just once in two Tests against the Lions.
There have been mitigating factors, yes. In Auckland, Barrett was moved to fullback to accommodate a backline reshuffle after Ryan Crotty's injury, while Sonny Bill Williams' red card in Wellington last weekend meant the All Blacks had to adjust to playing with 14 men.
But in giving away penalties, particularly in Wellington, the Lions have made it difficult for the All Blacks to string together the multiphase possession that eventually begins to fracture the defensive line; and these are the opportunities Barrett has jumped on repeatedly over the past 18 months.
"It has been disruptive for him [Barrett] and there's no doubt about that," assistant coach Ian Foster said on Tuesday. "It's not easy. He's come in and I know this series for him, like all our players, it means a lot and he wants to make a mark. So I'm sure he'll do that, but he's professional enough to know that it's not about him; it's about him doing his role in this group."
Barrett has certainly still played a key role in the series today, but without producing a performance like those that saw him rocket to the 2016 Player of the Year Award. After starting behind Aaron Cruden at fly-half against Wales in the first two Tests in June last year, Barrett was given an opportunity to start in the third Test; he scored 25 points and hasn't looked back since.
The Lions' preparedness to infringe, all the while risking a yellow card for repeated infringements, has helped them to limit Barrett's attacking game. And that has in turn has perhaps put more focus on his ability to lead the All Blacks around the paddock, something Foster says he has achieved superbly.
"He's been leading this group magnificently ... he showed a lot of composure and class with the way he went about things last week, I thought, in the circumstances; it didn't probably suit his style and yet he got us to a really nice position. I don't know the last time he's ever had 10 shots at goal from penalties, and so we had so many penalties coming our way and that sort of changed the way we played, too, because we weren't able to get beyond the first couple of rucks."
French referee Romain Poite had been a topic of conversation even before the second Test, with Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd last week saying that he would feel a little uneasy if he were the All Blacks boss with the series locked at 1-1 heading back to Auckland. Boyd had just seen his side draw 31-all with the tourists in their final tour match, and he admitted to being slightly befuddled with some of the Frenchman's rulings. But Foster has played down Poite's presence, saying the Frenchman's involvement as part of the refereeing trio from the first two Tests should hopefully ensure some form of interpretation continuity.
"History tells us it will be similar and he's an experienced ref," Foster said. "He's been witnessing what's been going on and so he's had a pretty good preparation for this Test I would have thought. And we know we've got a group of three there that have operating together as a refereeing group, and so we've kind have always applauded that idea that they can grow and learn through the series.
"So I'm sure he's come in [having] learned a lot from the last two Tests of what to expect and we've got to find out what that means for us early and make sure we adjust to that quickly and carry on doing what we need to do."
The big question is this: Will Poite shows the same level of patience as countryman Jerome Garces did in Wellington should the Lions again repeatedly infringe inside their own half?
Whatever the case, what the Lions have done so far is keep the world's best player relatively quiet.
That is, of course, unless Barrett has been saving his best for last. The final Test of a three-match series heralded the start of his amazing attacking run, and there's a handful of Welshman in this Lions side who can attest to that.
