All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has backed captain Scott Barrett over his decision to take a successful shot at goal late in his team’s defeat to France in Paris, saying “you’ve got to support him”.

Robertson did not, however, explicitly endorse the decision to take the three points in the 74th minute which narrowed the deficit to 30-29 – the final score at the Stade de France – rather than go for the try which may have won the All Blacks the Test.

It was a near impossible decision for Barrett, whose team had enjoyed a set piece advantage throughout but were facing a French defence that was far more resolute in the second half.

Attacking opportunities remained but the visitors were not making the most of them and it was clear that Barrett did not want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As it turned out, Barrett may have been left kicking himself because he conceded he may not have made the right decision.

In addition, Robertson hinted in a media call to New Zealand reporters the morning after the Test that the advice from the coaches’ box to his skipper was to kick for the corner and go for the five points.

“You’ve got to support him, that’s the first thing,” Robertson said. “He’s your captain, you trust him. He went on instinct at the time. Now he’s had a bit of time to reflect - when you look at the opportunities in Test footy, they’re quite limited.

“He felt we might get another one, to get another three [points], another shot to win it, and we didn’t get that.”

Asked whether the coaches had a system for providing advice to the captain on such difficult decisions, Robertson said: “We have a process to tell him our thoughts – you get the message out as quickly as you possibly can to help him with the decision.”

When pressed on whether that advice was delivered, Robertson would say only: “He got the information, yes.”

It’s a moot point now of course but when looking at the bigger picture it was another example of the All Blacks perhaps not being quite on the same page after they looked fully aligned when taking a 17-10 halftime lead.

Watch Scotty Stevenson and Patrick McKendry analyse the controversial thriller on TVNZ+

Robertson has rarely looked as deflated after a match as he was in this 13th Test of the year for the All Blacks – probably because of the closeness of the defeat but also the manner of it.

It was his side’s fourth loss of the year and the All Blacks have had halftime leads in all of them – the defeat to Argentina in Wellington and the twin losses to the world champion Springboks in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Assuming the All Blacks are too good for a struggling Italy in Turin next Sunday morning NZT, the failure of Robertson’s men to finish over the top of teams when in winning positions will likely occupy his thinking throughout the Kiwi summer.

The real blot on Robertson’s record is that 38-30 loss to the Pumas after leading 20-15 at the break.

There is no shame in losing two tight Tests away to the Boks but, after a difficult first season in which he lost assistant coach Leon MacDonald due to differences of opinion, Robertson clearly believed his side had turned a corner with significant victories over England and Ireland and for the clean sweep of the northern tour to be off the table will be hugely disappointing.

His task now is to pick his team up for the final Test of the year and while he will be without flanker Samipeni Finau, who must serve a 12-day stand down after his head injury in the first 90 seconds at the Stade de France, he should have the services of Sam Cane, whose badly gashed head in Dublin has healed well.

If selected it will be Cane’s 104th and final Test.

“His noggin’s good,” Robertson said, his sense of humour returning. “He’s a good healer, actually… the scar has healed up quite nicely and he’s got just enough hair to cover most of it.”

Jordie Barrett’s availability may not be as straightforward after the midfielder left the pitch before halftime with a knee injury. Robertson said the injury would be scanned this week.

Overall there will be other regrets, or, more accurately, frustrations for Robertson, including the frequent interruptions by the Television Match Official, most of which went against the visitors.

The official’s intervention with eight minutes remaining when he called foul play against replacement prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi for a “neck roll” was the most egregious.

There was little evidence of the act, with the opposing French player shifted by an All Blacks’ player’s cleanout, and the three points allowed France to take what turned out to be an unassailable 30-26 lead.

“Obviously, he believed it was foul play so that’s why he comes in,” Robertson said. “Was it foul play? That’s probably the question. He’s made a call in the moment and the ref has trusted him.”

On the plus side, Cam Roigard probably got the better of home hero Antoine Dupont, and in 24-year-old Tamaiti Williams, Robertson has a supremely talented loosehead prop who once again rose to the occasion.

Watch Scotty Stevenson and Patrick McKendry analyse the controversial thriller on TVNZ+