Nov 10,2024
New Zealand captain Scott Barrett believes Joe McCarthy took a cheap shot on Damian McKenzie during Ireland's Autumn Nations Series loss at Aviva Stadium.
Andy Farrell's side went down 23-13 as the All Blacks ended Ireland’s 19-game winning run in Dublin.
In the 13th minute, lock McCarthy was attempting to clear out a ruck when McKenzie and Rónan Kelleher were grappling for the ball.
After the referee blew his whistle for a knock-on against the out-half, Barrett came running in to grab the Leinster forward, unhappy with what he saw as an illegal action.
"Yeah, I don't usually take exception but I saw something that was, I guess, below the line for me," said the All Blacks second row.
"I guess you had to make a point of 'you're not targeting our 10 tonight.'
"I think I was getting up from a ruck and from where I saw it, it looked like Damian was on the ground and Joe cleaned him up.
"From where I saw, it looked like it was around his head. Whether it was or not, I'm not too sure, but I guess I took exception in that moment. It may not have been, I'm not too sure.
"It looked like a bit of a shoulder to a man on the ground, who is our 10."
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Meanwhile, Rieko Ioane decided to keep the fire burning in his spat with former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton.
The Kiwi centre was singled out by Sexton in his recent autobiography with the former out-half detailing their post-match exchange following Ireland's loss to New Zealand at the World Cup last year.
Soon after the match last night, Ioane posted a picture on social media of him leading the Haka accompanied by the caption 'Put that in the book’, followed by a Joker playing card emoji.
Barrett was asked about the choice of leader for the Maori challenge.
"We've got a number of guys who can lead the Haka and it was Rieko's first opportunity," he said.
"We love it and the English walked forward, the Irish did that as well, and you can hear the atmosphere and the crowd really getting in behind it. It sets the tone for what's in store.
"I guess [the teams walking up to meet the Haka is] them saying they're up for the challenge, which is great and is what Test matches are about, especially up here in the north, playing the best teams at home."
