Five takeaways from Ireland v New Zealand
Following a 16-9 victory for Ireland over New Zealand in their November international, here’s our five takeaways from the clash in Dublin.
Poachers aplenty: New Zealand simply had no answer to the breakdown threats Ireland posed. Josh van der Flier, Rory Best, Peter O’Mahony; the list goes on and on as the hosts bided their time until they saw an opening and then pounced on an isolated All Black, thus winning a turnover or penalty. Ireland, and several Irish PRO14 teams for that matter, dominate the tackle area and New Zealand just found that out.
Should have been yellow: Ireland full-back Rob Kearney can count himself extremely fortunate to have stayed on the field when he took out Rieko Ioane in the air in the second period. Wayne Barnes was confident in his own call and there was no intervention from the television match official or assistant referees to advise him otherwise. But we feel that contact, while it wasn’t deliberate, warranted 10 minutes.
Ultimate Test: It was the most absorbing match in Dublin as Ireland and New Zealand had us all on the edge of our seats. The top two teams in world rugby were full value for their ranking places as this had all the hallmarks of a Rugby World Cup final. Indeed, Ireland showed they are – if we didn’t know already – capable of lifting the ultimate prize in the game. Play like this in the knockouts and they could do it.
Joe Schmidt played a blinder: Yes, the players and his coaching team can hold their heads high, but Schmidt’s decisions in this match deserve ample praise. While Steve Hansen and New Zealand were throwing on changes and positional switches to try and break the green wall, Schmidt carefully brought on players in ones and twos in a way to break up the match. He also got his game plan spot on in Dublin as his outfit took another step in the right direction ahead of next year. With his future still unknown, Schmidt has added to his CV after this triumph.
Harsh lessons for New Zealand: A try-less showing for the All Blacks as a combination of being wasteful when in the red zone and Ireland’s outstanding defence will leave the visitors reeling. Italy could catch the brunt of the backlash next weekend but it will be a long seven days for Hansen, his coaches and players as they were second best in several areas at the Aviva Stadium. Question marks over Kieran Read as a skipper when the heat is on – particularly the call to take the kick on 69 minutes – only adds to what will be a painful review on Monday.