IRELAND’S STEP TOWARDS the All Blacks’ haka was not new, yet it seemed to indicate an intent to attack this occasion at Eden Park.
Instead, Andy Farrell’s team will have serious regrets about how their errors fed into the hands of a rampant New Zealand effort in the first half, leaving the visitors in trouble at the break.
Ireland conceded 11 turnovers in the opening 40 minutes alone as their inaccurate passing and handling invited the All Blacks to show their immense athleticism and skill level.
The All Blacks’ unbeaten record at their fortress now extends to 53 games, while this makes it three bonus-point wins from three Nations Championship games under new head coach Dave Rennie. The Kiwis in the crowd of 48,153 enjoyed this fourth consecutive win over Ireland.
A team as dangerous as this one scarcely needs to be handed opportunities, but the reality is that Ireland gave them up with their high error count in that nervy-looking opening half. It should be stressed that the Kiwis were ruthless in taking nearly every chance, scoring six tries in all.
Farrell’s men rallied in the second half, and their character is never in doubt, but their lasting memory will be of that gruelling opening 40 minutes when one of the All Blacks’ tries even bordered on calamity as the ever-lethal Will Jordan was handed an open goal.
It was a disappointing night for Ireland in Auckland. Photosport / Craig Butland/INPHO
Photosport / Craig Butland/INPHO / Craig Butland/INPHO
The All Blacks roll on to what should be a fascinating tour of South Africa with their tails up, but Ireland’s season ends on a disappointing note. There is no shame in losing at Eden Park, yet the Irish performance was well below the level they strive for.
There will be frustrations that were out of their control. All Blacks flanker Luke Jacobson was fortunate not to be shown a 20-minute red card for making head contact with Josh van der Flier in the first half, the off-field review deciding it should remain yellow.
And centre Quinn Tupaea seemed lucky not to get sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on in the second half, which was deemed to be a penalty only.
Yet no one will know better than Ireland themselves that they left too much out there in that error-strewn first half, after which they trailed by 28-7.
There were bright sparks on a tough night, with out-half Sam Prendergast having a good game and second row Joe McCarthy showing up well. Ireland’s effort was never in doubt, but their execution was.
Eden Park in Auckland. Photosport / Craig Butland/INPHO
Photosport / Craig Butland/INPHO / Craig Butland/INPHO
In truth, it looked ominous for Ireland from early on as they started with a couple of errors – Garry Ringrose knocking on an inaccurate Jimmy O’Brien pass soon before he was choke tackled by Jacobson and Tupaea – while the Kiwis showed their verve.
An intercept by Tadhg Beirne and then a Sheehan breakdown poach helped Ireland to hang on initially, but the All Blacks drew first blood in just the 10th minute.
It stemmed from another Irish error, with James Ryan knocking on in the Kiwis’ 22 before referee Nic Berry pinged them for being offside from the spill.
From the ensuing lineout, the All Blacks swept forward, with Tupou Vaa’i making inroads wide on the right before some potent carrying in midfield led to Josh Lord tipping a short pass to lock partner Patrick Tuipulotu, who surged into a big hole and past Hugo Keenan to score.
Ireland’s error count continued to tick upwards and another intense period of pressure – which included Ciarán Frawley coming on as a HIA replacement for O’Brien but being force off for a HIA himself – yielded the All Blacks’ second score, captain Ardie Savea picking from a five-metre scrum, accelerating past Beirne, and finishing through the tackle attempt of Gibson-Park, O’Brien and Prendergast.
Another try looked inevitable in the 28th minute, but the All Blacks gave up their momentum when flanker Jacobson thundered into a ruck on the Irish line and made clear contact with van der Flier’s head.
Quinn Tupaea and Jordie Barrett. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Berry showed him yellow and sent it for an off-field review. And Ireland finally started to build some pressure on the hosts. Van der Flier’s breakdown steal allowed them to sweep into the Kiwi 22 through Keenan, only for Prendergast to offload into touch.
But they kept the foot down and a good Prendergast line kick from a penalty left them within striking distance in the 34th minute. Vicious carries from Stuart McCloskey, Jack Conan and Tadhg Beirne laid the platform for Conan to punch over from close-range.
Back to 14-7, Ireland were suddenly in the game. Yet they conceded again within a minute.
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Straight off the restart, McCloskey pulled a pass back in his own 22, seemingly thinking Keenan was there. He wasn’t. The ball went to ground and the All Blacks’ record try scorer, Will Jordan, got perhaps the easiest one of his career. An open goal for the 14-man All Blacks.
Jacobson was back on the pitch for their bonus-point score in the 39th minute, which again stemmed from an Irish error. Right wing Rob Baloucoune made a great aerial take, but then knocked on in contact, allowing Ruben Love to kick a lovely 50:22.
From there, replacement hooker Asafo Aumua ran over van der Flier, Jacobson and Tuipulotu carried, then Aumua got back on the ball to finish despite the best efforts of Joe McCarthy and McCloskey.
Jack Conan celebrates a first-half try. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
There was still time for one last Irish chance down in the Kiwi 22 before the break, but Savea came up with a breakdown steal to leave them sickened.
28-7 down at the interval, Ireland absolutely needed a big start to the second half.
They got it. Big carries from McCloskey, McCarthy, and JGP saw them make inroads off a scrum and when the All Blacks infringed, Ireland went to the right corner. They were clinical off the five-metre lineout, with a series of aggressive carries resulting in second row McCarthy powering over for a converted try.
They soon created another opening wide on the left off a lineout strike, but Prendergast’s pass was too high and flew over O’Brien’s head into touch.
All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett turned on the class in the next few minutes, first with a brilliant aerial win, then with a clever 50:22 kick that gave his team a platform. And the Kiwis left the Irish 22 with their fifth try as normal service was resumed.
Fullback Damian McKenzie was the man to cross this time, darting over after Love was stopped just short. Love’s conversion stretched the scoreline out to 35-14.
With the game ticking into the final quarter, Ireland needed something akin to a miracle.
Tempers flare at Eden Park. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
They appealed for a yellow card for Tupaea when the All Blacks centre was penalised for a deliberate knock-on as Beirne looked poised to make a break on the halfway line. Berry kept his card in his pocket.
Another outstanding line kick from Prendergast left Ireland’s lineout five metres out, and from there, they pummelled the Kiwi tryline, earned penalty advantage, then went wide as Prendergast floated a slick pass left for Keenan to score.
The Ireland out-half then nailed the touchline conversion and Ireland trailed by 14 points.
Yet it wasn’t to be a stirring comeback as the All Blacks regained some control and finished the game strongly.
Jordan teed replacement centre Anton Lienert-Brown for their sixth try with a classy offload to end Ireland’s night on a miserable note.
New Zealand scorers:
Tries: Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, Will Jordan, Asafo Aumua, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown
Conversions: Ruben Love [5 from 5], Damian McKenzie [0 from 1]
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Jack Conan, Joe McCarthy, Hugo Keenan
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [3 from 3]
NEW ZEALAND: Damian McKenzie; Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea (Anton Lienert-Brown ’68), Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby; Ruben Love (Caleb Clarke ’57), Cam Roigard (Cortez Ratima ’73); Ethan de Groot (Xavier Numia ’50), Codie Taylor (Asafo Aumua ’31), Tyrel Lomax (Fletcher Newell ’5 to ’15, permanent ’57); Josh Lord, Patrick Tuipulotu (Anton Segner ’58); Tupou Vaa’i, Luke Jacobson (yellow card ’28) (Peter Lakai ’73), Ardie Savea (captain).
IRELAND: Hugo Keenan; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey (Bundee Aki ’60, reversal ’75), Jimmy O’Brien (HIA – Ciarán Frawley ’13 to ’20 (HIA – Bundee Aki ’20 to ’22)) (Ciarán Frawley ’57); Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park (Craig Casey ’75); Tom O’Toole (Jeremy Loughman ’68), Dan Sheehan (captain) (Rónan Kelleher ’68), Tadhg Furlong (Thomas Clarkson ’60); Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (Sean Jansen ’58); Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier (Nick Timoney ’57), Jack Conan.
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Error-strewn Ireland come up well short as All Blacks win at Eden Park
New Zealand 40
Ireland 21
IRELAND’S STEP TOWARDS the All Blacks’ haka was not new, yet it seemed to indicate an intent to attack this occasion at Eden Park.
Instead, Andy Farrell’s team will have serious regrets about how their errors fed into the hands of a rampant New Zealand effort in the first half, leaving the visitors in trouble at the break.
Ireland conceded 11 turnovers in the opening 40 minutes alone as their inaccurate passing and handling invited the All Blacks to show their immense athleticism and skill level.
The All Blacks’ unbeaten record at their fortress now extends to 53 games, while this makes it three bonus-point wins from three Nations Championship games under new head coach Dave Rennie. The Kiwis in the crowd of 48,153 enjoyed this fourth consecutive win over Ireland.
A team as dangerous as this one scarcely needs to be handed opportunities, but the reality is that Ireland gave them up with their high error count in that nervy-looking opening half. It should be stressed that the Kiwis were ruthless in taking nearly every chance, scoring six tries in all.
Farrell’s men rallied in the second half, and their character is never in doubt, but their lasting memory will be of that gruelling opening 40 minutes when one of the All Blacks’ tries even bordered on calamity as the ever-lethal Will Jordan was handed an open goal.
The All Blacks roll on to what should be a fascinating tour of South Africa with their tails up, but Ireland’s season ends on a disappointing note. There is no shame in losing at Eden Park, yet the Irish performance was well below the level they strive for.
There will be frustrations that were out of their control. All Blacks flanker Luke Jacobson was fortunate not to be shown a 20-minute red card for making head contact with Josh van der Flier in the first half, the off-field review deciding it should remain yellow.
And centre Quinn Tupaea seemed lucky not to get sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on in the second half, which was deemed to be a penalty only.
Yet no one will know better than Ireland themselves that they left too much out there in that error-strewn first half, after which they trailed by 28-7.
There were bright sparks on a tough night, with out-half Sam Prendergast having a good game and second row Joe McCarthy showing up well. Ireland’s effort was never in doubt, but their execution was.
In truth, it looked ominous for Ireland from early on as they started with a couple of errors – Garry Ringrose knocking on an inaccurate Jimmy O’Brien pass soon before he was choke tackled by Jacobson and Tupaea – while the Kiwis showed their verve.
An intercept by Tadhg Beirne and then a Sheehan breakdown poach helped Ireland to hang on initially, but the All Blacks drew first blood in just the 10th minute.
It stemmed from another Irish error, with James Ryan knocking on in the Kiwis’ 22 before referee Nic Berry pinged them for being offside from the spill.
From the ensuing lineout, the All Blacks swept forward, with Tupou Vaa’i making inroads wide on the right before some potent carrying in midfield led to Josh Lord tipping a short pass to lock partner Patrick Tuipulotu, who surged into a big hole and past Hugo Keenan to score.
Ireland’s error count continued to tick upwards and another intense period of pressure – which included Ciarán Frawley coming on as a HIA replacement for O’Brien but being force off for a HIA himself – yielded the All Blacks’ second score, captain Ardie Savea picking from a five-metre scrum, accelerating past Beirne, and finishing through the tackle attempt of Gibson-Park, O’Brien and Prendergast.
Another try looked inevitable in the 28th minute, but the All Blacks gave up their momentum when flanker Jacobson thundered into a ruck on the Irish line and made clear contact with van der Flier’s head.
Berry showed him yellow and sent it for an off-field review. And Ireland finally started to build some pressure on the hosts. Van der Flier’s breakdown steal allowed them to sweep into the Kiwi 22 through Keenan, only for Prendergast to offload into touch.
But they kept the foot down and a good Prendergast line kick from a penalty left them within striking distance in the 34th minute. Vicious carries from Stuart McCloskey, Jack Conan and Tadhg Beirne laid the platform for Conan to punch over from close-range.
Back to 14-7, Ireland were suddenly in the game. Yet they conceded again within a minute.
Straight off the restart, McCloskey pulled a pass back in his own 22, seemingly thinking Keenan was there. He wasn’t. The ball went to ground and the All Blacks’ record try scorer, Will Jordan, got perhaps the easiest one of his career. An open goal for the 14-man All Blacks.
Jacobson was back on the pitch for their bonus-point score in the 39th minute, which again stemmed from an Irish error. Right wing Rob Baloucoune made a great aerial take, but then knocked on in contact, allowing Ruben Love to kick a lovely 50:22.
From there, replacement hooker Asafo Aumua ran over van der Flier, Jacobson and Tuipulotu carried, then Aumua got back on the ball to finish despite the best efforts of Joe McCarthy and McCloskey.
There was still time for one last Irish chance down in the Kiwi 22 before the break, but Savea came up with a breakdown steal to leave them sickened.
28-7 down at the interval, Ireland absolutely needed a big start to the second half.
They got it. Big carries from McCloskey, McCarthy, and JGP saw them make inroads off a scrum and when the All Blacks infringed, Ireland went to the right corner. They were clinical off the five-metre lineout, with a series of aggressive carries resulting in second row McCarthy powering over for a converted try.
They soon created another opening wide on the left off a lineout strike, but Prendergast’s pass was too high and flew over O’Brien’s head into touch.
All Blacks centre Jordie Barrett turned on the class in the next few minutes, first with a brilliant aerial win, then with a clever 50:22 kick that gave his team a platform. And the Kiwis left the Irish 22 with their fifth try as normal service was resumed.
Fullback Damian McKenzie was the man to cross this time, darting over after Love was stopped just short. Love’s conversion stretched the scoreline out to 35-14.
With the game ticking into the final quarter, Ireland needed something akin to a miracle.
They appealed for a yellow card for Tupaea when the All Blacks centre was penalised for a deliberate knock-on as Beirne looked poised to make a break on the halfway line. Berry kept his card in his pocket.
Another outstanding line kick from Prendergast left Ireland’s lineout five metres out, and from there, they pummelled the Kiwi tryline, earned penalty advantage, then went wide as Prendergast floated a slick pass left for Keenan to score.
The Ireland out-half then nailed the touchline conversion and Ireland trailed by 14 points.
Yet it wasn’t to be a stirring comeback as the All Blacks regained some control and finished the game strongly.
Jordan teed replacement centre Anton Lienert-Brown for their sixth try with a classy offload to end Ireland’s night on a miserable note.
New Zealand scorers:
Tries: Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, Will Jordan, Asafo Aumua, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown
Conversions: Ruben Love [5 from 5], Damian McKenzie [0 from 1]
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Jack Conan, Joe McCarthy, Hugo Keenan
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [3 from 3]
NEW ZEALAND: Damian McKenzie; Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea (Anton Lienert-Brown ’68), Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby; Ruben Love (Caleb Clarke ’57), Cam Roigard (Cortez Ratima ’73); Ethan de Groot (Xavier Numia ’50), Codie Taylor (Asafo Aumua ’31), Tyrel Lomax (Fletcher Newell ’5 to ’15, permanent ’57); Josh Lord, Patrick Tuipulotu (Anton Segner ’58); Tupou Vaa’i, Luke Jacobson (yellow card ’28) (Peter Lakai ’73), Ardie Savea (captain).
IRELAND: Hugo Keenan; Robert Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey (Bundee Aki ’60, reversal ’75), Jimmy O’Brien (HIA – Ciarán Frawley ’13 to ’20 (HIA – Bundee Aki ’20 to ’22)) (Ciarán Frawley ’57); Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park (Craig Casey ’75); Tom O’Toole (Jeremy Loughman ’68), Dan Sheehan (captain) (Rónan Kelleher ’68), Tadhg Furlong (Thomas Clarkson ’60); Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (Sean Jansen ’58); Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier (Nick Timoney ’57), Jack Conan.
Referee: Nic Berry [Australia].
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All Blacks Eden Park Ireland Nations Championship Second best the fortress