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Ireland score first-ever win on Kiwi shores to keep All Blacks series alive
By Alex McLeod
Ireland have created history in Dunedin, beating the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time ever to keep their series hopes alive.
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For the fourth time since 2016, Ireland have come up trumps against the Kiwis, beating their modern-day rivals 23-12 under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Ireland’s win came in vastly different circumstances to that of their other three victories in Chicago and Dublin, however, as penalties and cards of varying colours proved plentiful throughout this encounter.
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Both teams were hammered by card-happy referee Jaco Peyper, but it was the All Blacks who felt the pinch the most as they were forced to play with 14 men for 50 minutes, and were occasionally left to play with only 13 on the park.
There were even calls by some that some miscalls by the officials left Ian Foster’s men in a fortuitous position as they believed the Kiwis should have been reduced to 12 players amid some card confusion near the end of the first half.
Nevertheless, no number of cards can overshadow the importance of this win for Ireland, who have finally broken their duck by tasting success on New Zealand soil, and keeping their hopes of a maiden series win against the All Blacks alive.
Likewise, the underlying pressure that continues to surround Foster and his assistants will only amplify in the wake of this fixture, setting up a blockbusting all-or-nothing clash in Wellington next week.
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Quick to put the memories of last week’s 42-19 drubbing at Eden Park to rest, Ireland ploughed their way to the tryline in under three minutes when prop Andrew Porter dragged Quinn Tupaea with him into New Zealand’s in-goal area.
Porter’s try came on the back of a big line break from lock Tadhg Beirne, who was put into acres of space thanks to superb work of Josh van der Flier’s ability to suck Kiwi defenders and pop a deft offload into his teammate’s clutches.
The rest of the work was done by Ireland’s dominant forward pack, which allowed the quality ball-playing of halves partners Jamison Gibson-Park and Jonathan Sexton to ensure the tourists the early lead.
Ireland continued to ride their luck through the opening few minutes of the contest, as ill-discipline and lineout woes – perhaps a consequence of Sam Whitelock’s concussion-enforced unavailability – plagued the All Blacks.
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That much enabled Sexton to add an extra three points to the scoreboard when Irish No 8 Caelan Doris got himself all over Brodie Retallick’s ball, giving the visitors an early double-digit lead.
Things only went from bad to worse for the All Blacks when rookie wing Leicester Fainga’anuku was sent to the sin bin after taking out his opposite Mack Hansen while attempting a charge down.
It was an incident eerily similar to that of Caleb Clarke’s red card against Moana Pasifika earlier in the Super Rugby Pacific season, but the television match official deemed Fainga’anuku’s contact was to Hansen’s chest rather than his head.
Therefore, Fainga’anuku’s foul play warranted a yellow card rather than a red, but Ireland struggled to capitalise on his absence as the concession of handling errors and penalties gifted the All Blacks a get-out-of-jail-free card.
The All Blacks were then reduced to 13 men after prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi stifled a threatening Irish attack when he tackled Garry Ringrose without the ball as the away side narrowed in on their opponents’ goal line.
Once again, though, some desperate and impactful Kiwi defence forced Ireland backwards, holding the opposition at bay until Fainga’anuku was reintroduced to the field.
They were soon back to 13 men, however, as some poor tackle technique by Angus Ta’avao – Tu’ungafasi’s yellow card replacement – resulted in a red card after he sickeningly collided heads with Ringrose.
Perhaps the biggest punishment from that indiscretion came after Tu’ungafasi returned to the field, which meant the All Blacks were back to a full complement of players.
As such, someone had to leave the park as the de facto red-carded player given Ta’avao was only on the field as Tu’ungafasi’s temporary replacement.
Star No 8 Ardie Savea was the unlucky candidate, leaving the All Blacks bereft of one of their key figures.
Even then, Ireland couldn’t utilise New Zealand’s on-field loss of quality and quantity, as poor discipline and execution saw them cough up multiple chances well inside All Blacks territory.
The hosts went on to make them pay, rolling their sleeves up and marching their way downfield through their forwards, which ended up in Beauden Barrett dotting down right under the sticks after the half-time siren.
Ireland were even handed a sin bin of their own as Peyper brandished a yellow card to Irish lock James Ryan, leaving both teams with 14 men as both sides entered the break.
That was about as bright as things got for the All Blacks, whose playing stocks were depleted again early in the second half when Retallick had to undergo a head injury assessment.
He was sorely missed as Ireland put New Zealand under the pump up front, breaching their gain line in an impressive sequence of phase play, with Porter bolstering his side’s lead by crashing over under the sticks for a second try.
Not even Retallick’s successful head injury assessment return could stop Ireland’s accrual of points, as Sexton added a three from point-blank range to grant his side the match’s biggest lead.
Strong line speed pressure and tenacious breakdown defence paved the way for a further three points to Sexton as the match ticked towards its final 10 minutes.
The growing scoreboard pressure that came with Sexton’s goal-kicking accuracy created an insurmountable lead that the All Blacks never captured.
A consolation Will Jordan try came far too late in the piece for it to impact the final result, and questions will continue to be asked about Foster and his All Blacks squad as Andy Farrell’s Ireland revel in their famous win.
Ireland 23 (2 tries to Andrew Porter; 2 conversions and 3 penalties to Jonathan Sexton)
All Blacks 12 (Tries to Beauden Barrett and Will Jordan; conversion to Jordie Barrett)
Outplayed by a better team. Well played Ireland.
Strange game. Deserved Irish win
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