All Blacks coaches Steve Hansen and Ian Foster credited the maturity of star first-five Beauden Barrett, after he relinquished kicking duties to youngster Richie Mo'unga in this morning's 32-30 win over South Africa in Pretoria.
After a barren display with the boot against South Africa in Wellington three weeks ago, Barrett's kicking had come under heavy fire, before putting in two perfect displays against Argentina and South Africa respectively.
However, late in the second half of this morning's win, Barrett allowed Mo'unga to take up the kicking responsibilities, going on to ace the match winning shot at goal under pressure.
Asked about the kicking dynamic in the post match press conference, Foster and Hansen both praised Barrett's selflessness.
"He was breathing a bit hard, and he's got a lot of faith in Richie," Foster said.
"When Richie came on, those two made a decision, It wasn't a definite strategy, but we trust the decisions they make on the park.
"He's part of a group that's working really hard to put the team first in everything we do. For him at that point they decided that's how they wanted to work it.
"I'd be happy to see him carry on kicking - he's kicking pretty well."
Hansen concurred with his assistant, praising Barrett for making the decision.
"Beauden is one of the leaders in the team," he said.
"He saw that as an opportunity for him to get back to halfway and help Reado (captain Kieran Read) manage the team.
"We'd have been happy if he'd kept kicking, but he made that decision."
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