IRELAND HEAD COACH Andy Farrell said he didn’t understand why Tadhg Beirne was given a 20-minute red card during his side’s 26-13 defeat to New Zealand.
However, the Ireland boss refused to blame that 20-minute red card for his side’s loss in Chicago.
After a somewhat farcical delay as Beirne’s challenge on Beauden Barrett was reviewed, referee Pierre Brousset showed the Ireland second row a yellow card and sent the incident for an off-field review.
The yellow card was then upgraded to red by foul play review officer Dan Jones, meaning Beirne’s evening was over after just three minutes of action. He was replaced by Iain Henderson 20 minutes after the tackle on Barrett.
“I don’t know, because I’m all for the safest way possible for this game to move forward, so you’ve got to be careful what you say in that regard,” said Farrell post-match when asked about Beirne’s red card.
“To me, if you look at it in real time, I don’t know how he was transferred [from yellow to red]. They’ve obviously got their reasons and I wasn’t privy to that.
“You can look at it in all angles, but the only way to look at it is in real time. To me, it’s a forward pass in the first place and how that influences your decision after that… but it doesn’t matter any more, does it?
“We got a red card and we actually dealt with it pretty well, to be fair. That doesn’t make it any better.”
Farrell felt his side did some things well at Soldier Field, but he bemoaned their lack of accuracy at crucial moments.
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Ireland led 13-7 heading into the final quarter but the All Blacks came up with a powerful finish to score three more tries.
Wallace Sititi celebrates his try in Chicago. Photosport / Robert Alam/INPHO
Photosport / Robert Alam/INPHO / Robert Alam/INPHO
Farrell felt that a 60th-minute turnover from his side, when Jamie Osborne couldn’t hold Jack Crowley’s pass in the New Zealand 22 and the Kiwis soon scored down the other end of the pitch, was key in deciding the game.
“I’ll start with what we did do well,” said Farrell. “I thought we managed the game tactically pretty well. I thought our kicking game/territory, being in the right part of the field [was good]. Although some of our kicks were off, the manner of them was the right thing to do.
“We gave ourselves a bit of territory, but it’s all about converting. It’s all about putting points on the board. I thought the start of the second half was pretty good, but when you run a good line and drop a ball and all of sudden the ball is in behind you, you give away a turnover, kick to the corner, and that’s the game.
“That’s how quickly the game can turn on you.
“You can defend really well at times in your own 22, but if you’re giving an infringement in the line out and you go again, then you need to back that up and go again, but we missed a tackle and all of a sudden you’re two tries down and that’s not going to be good enough against a side like that.”
Farrell said he didn’t believe the lack of game time many of his players had ahead of this November Test was a reason for how they struggled to deal with New Zealand in the final quarter.
Rather than a physical issue, he felt it was more about slips in concentration.
“I suppose you subconsciously suppress yourself a bit when things don’t start going your way, and I’m talking two tries and the game going away from us that little bit, 100% we were slower off the floor.
“I thought our fitness was pretty good. It’s what we talked about before the game, mental switch-offs, mental sharpness, lapses of concentration for two or three seconds, and you get hurt.
“We managed the red card and I thought the subs were coming on with fresh legs. I didn’t think it was a fitness problem. It was a sharpness to our game that was the issue.”
Tommy O'Brien attempts to regather a kick. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland’s lineout had a bad outing as New Zealand made some big steals, meaning that Paul O’Connell’s pack had just a 69% return on their own throw.
Hooker and captain Dan Sheehan said it’s an area of Ireland’s game that has to improve quickly.
“I thought they did a great job at getting up early,” said Sheehan.
“It’s frustrating for us. It’s something we pride ourselves on is winning good ball so that we can launch our attacks on. Just didn’t get into our flow today in a lot of times. It probably fed into the game in that we weren’t able to stack momentum.
“It’s definitely something we need to look at and try to find our flow again. But there’s a good group there. The right people are there and we’ll work the plan out now going into the next couple of weeks. We’ll get it humming again, but it just didn’t click tonight.”
Farrell underlined that all aspects of Ireland’s game need to improve ahead of the Tests against Japan, Australia, and South Africa back in Dublin.
“It’s disappointing to lose any game,” said Farrell. “When you play a top-tier side, a world-class side like New Zealand, you always want to judge yourself against that opposition.
“Then obviously the occasion and all that together, it hurts a little bit more. Understanding why that happened is key for us now. Addressing all of that and making sure we move forward very quickly for what is a pretty important autumn.”
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'We got a red card and dealt with it pretty well. That doesn’t make it better'
IRELAND HEAD COACH Andy Farrell said he didn’t understand why Tadhg Beirne was given a 20-minute red card during his side’s 26-13 defeat to New Zealand.
However, the Ireland boss refused to blame that 20-minute red card for his side’s loss in Chicago.
After a somewhat farcical delay as Beirne’s challenge on Beauden Barrett was reviewed, referee Pierre Brousset showed the Ireland second row a yellow card and sent the incident for an off-field review.
The yellow card was then upgraded to red by foul play review officer Dan Jones, meaning Beirne’s evening was over after just three minutes of action. He was replaced by Iain Henderson 20 minutes after the tackle on Barrett.
“I don’t know, because I’m all for the safest way possible for this game to move forward, so you’ve got to be careful what you say in that regard,” said Farrell post-match when asked about Beirne’s red card.
“To me, if you look at it in real time, I don’t know how he was transferred [from yellow to red]. They’ve obviously got their reasons and I wasn’t privy to that.
“You can look at it in all angles, but the only way to look at it is in real time. To me, it’s a forward pass in the first place and how that influences your decision after that… but it doesn’t matter any more, does it?
“We got a red card and we actually dealt with it pretty well, to be fair. That doesn’t make it any better.”
Farrell felt his side did some things well at Soldier Field, but he bemoaned their lack of accuracy at crucial moments.
Ireland led 13-7 heading into the final quarter but the All Blacks came up with a powerful finish to score three more tries.
Farrell felt that a 60th-minute turnover from his side, when Jamie Osborne couldn’t hold Jack Crowley’s pass in the New Zealand 22 and the Kiwis soon scored down the other end of the pitch, was key in deciding the game.
“I’ll start with what we did do well,” said Farrell. “I thought we managed the game tactically pretty well. I thought our kicking game/territory, being in the right part of the field [was good]. Although some of our kicks were off, the manner of them was the right thing to do.
“We gave ourselves a bit of territory, but it’s all about converting. It’s all about putting points on the board. I thought the start of the second half was pretty good, but when you run a good line and drop a ball and all of sudden the ball is in behind you, you give away a turnover, kick to the corner, and that’s the game.
“That’s how quickly the game can turn on you.
“You can defend really well at times in your own 22, but if you’re giving an infringement in the line out and you go again, then you need to back that up and go again, but we missed a tackle and all of a sudden you’re two tries down and that’s not going to be good enough against a side like that.”
Farrell said he didn’t believe the lack of game time many of his players had ahead of this November Test was a reason for how they struggled to deal with New Zealand in the final quarter.
Rather than a physical issue, he felt it was more about slips in concentration.
“I suppose you subconsciously suppress yourself a bit when things don’t start going your way, and I’m talking two tries and the game going away from us that little bit, 100% we were slower off the floor.
“I thought our fitness was pretty good. It’s what we talked about before the game, mental switch-offs, mental sharpness, lapses of concentration for two or three seconds, and you get hurt.
“We managed the red card and I thought the subs were coming on with fresh legs. I didn’t think it was a fitness problem. It was a sharpness to our game that was the issue.”
Ireland’s lineout had a bad outing as New Zealand made some big steals, meaning that Paul O’Connell’s pack had just a 69% return on their own throw.
Hooker and captain Dan Sheehan said it’s an area of Ireland’s game that has to improve quickly.
“I thought they did a great job at getting up early,” said Sheehan.
“It’s frustrating for us. It’s something we pride ourselves on is winning good ball so that we can launch our attacks on. Just didn’t get into our flow today in a lot of times. It probably fed into the game in that we weren’t able to stack momentum.
“It’s definitely something we need to look at and try to find our flow again. But there’s a good group there. The right people are there and we’ll work the plan out now going into the next couple of weeks. We’ll get it humming again, but it just didn’t click tonight.”
Farrell underlined that all aspects of Ireland’s game need to improve ahead of the Tests against Japan, Australia, and South Africa back in Dublin.
“It’s disappointing to lose any game,” said Farrell. “When you play a top-tier side, a world-class side like New Zealand, you always want to judge yourself against that opposition.
“Then obviously the occasion and all that together, it hurts a little bit more. Understanding why that happened is key for us now. Addressing all of that and making sure we move forward very quickly for what is a pretty important autumn.”
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