Tries from Beauden Barrett and Brodie Retallick have been included in the four finalists for the International Rugby Players Try of the Year award.
Brodie Retallick. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The All Blacks tries began with turnovers deep in their team's own half with Retallick and Barrett the finishers, with the others scored by Ireland number eight CJ Stander and Scotland's New Zealand born winger Sean Maitland.
Barrett, the 2016 and 2017 World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year, is bidding to become the first player to win the Try of the Year award twice after receiving it in 2013 for his try against France.
Retallick's try was in the first Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney when he threw a dummy and Barrett's try was in the second Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park when he was at the end of a sweeping move.
The four tries were selected by the IRP Try of the Year panel of former players: New Zealand's Melodie Robinson, Ireland's Ronan O'Gara, Italy's Marco Bortolami and Wales' Shane Williams.
The winner to be announced at the World Rugby Awards in Monte Carlo on 25 November.
Beauden Barrett crosses the Eden Park whitewash. Photo: Photosport
BEAUDEN BARRETT
With 12 minutes to go at Eden Park in the second Bledisloe Cup test, Brodie Retallick stripped Australia prop Tom Robertson in the New Zealand 22 and quickly offloaded to TJ Perenara. The scrum-half found Damian McKenzie and the replacement set off on the counter-attack, beating two defenders in a 30-metre burst before offloading to Anton Lienert-Brown on his outside. Lienert-Brown took it over halfway before releasing Ben Smith, who had Beauden Barrett on his outside, the fly-half stepping inside Marika Koroibete and then diving over to score his fourth try in the match, minutes after having another try ruled out.
BRODIE RETALLICK
This free-flowing try started and finished with the All Blacks second-row. Retallick was quickly through on Australia scrum-half Will Genia in the first match of the Rugby Championship in Sydney, turning over the ball and offloading to Damian McKenzie to launch the counter-attack. Beauden Barrett and Ben Smith helped take play into the Australian half before the All Blacks recycled and swung the ball from right to left, the fly-half finding Retallick who sold Bernard Foley with an outrageous dummy and ran in from nearly 30 metres.
This new-look panel will select the winner of the 2018 award.
-World Rugby.
