DOWN IN THE dark, grey corridor that led to the Ireland changing room, there was an abundance of sighing and head shaking.
The Irish players will take some time to rid themselves of a feeling of missing a chance to beat New Zealand for what would have been just the sixth time in Irish rugby history.
Andy Farrell’s team had an unfortunate and harsh setback early on when Tadhg Beirne was given a 20-minute red card, but they handled that period well and led 10-7 at the end of it.
What was causing them regret yesterday evening in Soldier Field was what came next. Ireland only managed to score three more points and they never managed to give themselves the breathing room they needed. The longer it went on, the more New Zealand sensed their chance.
“When we were 13-7 up, we didn’t take our chances to add to that score and then that probably gave them a bit of hope and then, you know, they’re going to have moments themselves and a couple of mistakes and they’re under the posts twice and you’re now going from leading to having to chase hard to win a game,” said blindside flanker Ryan Baird after Ireland’s 26-13 defeat.
“I just felt like we had them on the ropes. We started well, we were carrying well, striking well, and then we let them off the ropes and we let them play.
“And they had their own tactics, which once they got a bit of confidence and momentum, they were able to implement. Once we had them on the ropes, they had to think about getting off them first.”
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So why didn’t Ireland manage to convert points into pressure?
“We put ourselves in a position for the game to go deep and unfortunately we just didn’t, man,” said wing James Lowe. “I don’t know.
James Lowe at Soldier Field yesterday. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“It was discipline, wasn’t it? A few soft penalties when momentum’s against you, how do you stop it? How do you wrangle it back? Maybe a few lapses in concentration and that’s all you need to do.
“Unfortunately, against world-class teams, they punish you for that.”
There was also the lineout, which hindered Ireland’s ability to attack. They had a 69% return on their own throw and while the early departure of lineout leader Beirne clearly played into that, the very first Irish lineout with Beirne on the pitch misfired badly.
New Zealand stole three Irish throws, there were some crooked ones in there, and generally Ireland struggled to get a good platform to attack off. Baird did manage to steal two Kiwi throws, including one on the Irish five-metre line, but it was a frustrating day.
“Obviously, losing Tadhg after three minutes, it’s going to throw a bit of a spanner in the works but we’d like to think we’d be able to not let that affect us as much as it did,” said Baird.
“Like, they’re a good lineout defence team as well, so you’ve got to give it to them.
“They sensed there was a hesitation in some lineouts and they capitalised on it, like we did against them, so it was a fair enough battle in the lineouts.”
While the frustration was certainly highly evident from the Irish players and coaches in Chicago yesterday evening, they came across as relatively confident about bouncing back too.
Ireland thank their fans in Chicago. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
There seems to be plenty of belief that they will grow through this November window, with home games against Japan, Australia, and South Africa to come.
“We’re there or thereabouts, aren’t we?” said Lowe as he expressed full confidence that Ireland will get better.
“It was so close. It was an opportunity that probably slipped us, unfortunately. And now we’re here, heads down, scratching our heads, thinking what’s next?
“But I can tell you what’s next: it’s three test matches against three very, very good opponents.
“We’re going to put our best foot forward and hopefully rip into them.”
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'We let them off the ropes and we let them play'
DOWN IN THE dark, grey corridor that led to the Ireland changing room, there was an abundance of sighing and head shaking.
The Irish players will take some time to rid themselves of a feeling of missing a chance to beat New Zealand for what would have been just the sixth time in Irish rugby history.
Andy Farrell’s team had an unfortunate and harsh setback early on when Tadhg Beirne was given a 20-minute red card, but they handled that period well and led 10-7 at the end of it.
What was causing them regret yesterday evening in Soldier Field was what came next. Ireland only managed to score three more points and they never managed to give themselves the breathing room they needed. The longer it went on, the more New Zealand sensed their chance.
“When we were 13-7 up, we didn’t take our chances to add to that score and then that probably gave them a bit of hope and then, you know, they’re going to have moments themselves and a couple of mistakes and they’re under the posts twice and you’re now going from leading to having to chase hard to win a game,” said blindside flanker Ryan Baird after Ireland’s 26-13 defeat.
“I just felt like we had them on the ropes. We started well, we were carrying well, striking well, and then we let them off the ropes and we let them play.
“And they had their own tactics, which once they got a bit of confidence and momentum, they were able to implement. Once we had them on the ropes, they had to think about getting off them first.”
So why didn’t Ireland manage to convert points into pressure?
“We put ourselves in a position for the game to go deep and unfortunately we just didn’t, man,” said wing James Lowe. “I don’t know.
“It was discipline, wasn’t it? A few soft penalties when momentum’s against you, how do you stop it? How do you wrangle it back? Maybe a few lapses in concentration and that’s all you need to do.
“Unfortunately, against world-class teams, they punish you for that.”
There was also the lineout, which hindered Ireland’s ability to attack. They had a 69% return on their own throw and while the early departure of lineout leader Beirne clearly played into that, the very first Irish lineout with Beirne on the pitch misfired badly.
New Zealand stole three Irish throws, there were some crooked ones in there, and generally Ireland struggled to get a good platform to attack off. Baird did manage to steal two Kiwi throws, including one on the Irish five-metre line, but it was a frustrating day.
“Obviously, losing Tadhg after three minutes, it’s going to throw a bit of a spanner in the works but we’d like to think we’d be able to not let that affect us as much as it did,” said Baird.
“Like, they’re a good lineout defence team as well, so you’ve got to give it to them.
“They sensed there was a hesitation in some lineouts and they capitalised on it, like we did against them, so it was a fair enough battle in the lineouts.”
While the frustration was certainly highly evident from the Irish players and coaches in Chicago yesterday evening, they came across as relatively confident about bouncing back too.
There seems to be plenty of belief that they will grow through this November window, with home games against Japan, Australia, and South Africa to come.
“We’re there or thereabouts, aren’t we?” said Lowe as he expressed full confidence that Ireland will get better.
“It was so close. It was an opportunity that probably slipped us, unfortunately. And now we’re here, heads down, scratching our heads, thinking what’s next?
“But I can tell you what’s next: it’s three test matches against three very, very good opponents.
“We’re going to put our best foot forward and hopefully rip into them.”
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