All Blacks: Jordie Barrett on the ‘super-frustrating’ issue with loss as they ‘fed emotional’ Argentina

All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett has lamented their high penalty count as being “super-frustrating” and something they will look to get right against Argentina.

New Zealand were stunned 38-30 in their Rugby Championship opener against Los Pumas, who ran out winners in a result that throws the tournament wide open.

Speaking after the defeat, Barrett zoned in on their kick-off receipts as being below par, as they now prepare to face the same opposition this weekend at Eden Park.

Disappointing

“That will be a focal point going into the week, and discipline,” he told reporters. “We can’t afford to give away as many penalties to any team. It’s super-frustrating and disappointing at the same time.”

Barrett admitted that discipline was a vital area they targeted going into the Round One fixture, which made their showing in Wellington all the more frustrating.

“Everything we spoke about probably smacked us in the face at times, and we didn’t deal with as well as we would have liked,” he said before touching on Los Pumas.

“Argentina are a physical team, and if they can manage the clock and force penalties, it puts pressure on at the set-piece. Games turn into arm wrestles, and if they kick their goals, they create a tough night.

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“They’re an emotional side. If that’s fed, they’re always tough so we’ve got to be better on our game, it’s as simple as that.”

New Zealand are in a period of reflection after their shock defeat and will no doubt be desperate to bounce back this weekend, with Barrett hurting after the loss.

“It’s about sticking tight, learning and being better next week because it wasn’t up to our standard easily,” he stressed.

“When we did get some momentum the game swung our way and we had our moments, and then, there were too many moments we didn’t take at crucial times.”

He added: “We could have put them into a bit more of a pressure cycle, maybe through our kicking game. It’s disappointing.”

The rematch

It promises to be a thrilling rematch between the two sides this weekend and centre Barrett insists New Zealand will be much improved as they look to hit back.

“They (Argentina) are a good side, strong at the breakdown, messed up a lot of our ball and are a passionate side who don’t go away. We’ve got to take that one on our chin and get better. And we will get better,” he explained.

“We felt we may have been a little bit high around the collision, particularly in the first half. We spoke about that at half-time, and it got a little better after half-time. But, when we scored points, we didn’t exit [from the restarts], and we compounded a few mistakes.

“We didn’t execute when we had opportunities. We’ll go back, get better individually, look in the mirror first, and control how we prepare for these guys next week.

“They’re a good side, you’ve got to respect them, and they’re getting better each week.”

READ MORE: All Blacks coach identifies where it all went wrong against Argentina