Maori repel Irish invasion
The New Zealand Maori made hard work of a 31-28 win over Ireland in Rotorua on Friday, in an enthralling game of rugby.
The New Zealand Maori made hard work of a 31-28 win over Ireland in Rotorua on Friday, in an enthralling game of rugby.
The Irish have only themselves to blame for a start that saw them trailing by 15 points within 14 minutes.
For much of the rest of the game they were on top, with Jonathan Sexton's boot stroking over penalty after penalty as the Maori fell foul of Mark Lawrence's whistle.
But what the Irish had in spirit and endeavour could not be matched by finesse. They scored one try, immediately after the break which handed them the lead, but on the rare occasions the Maori had the ball something was always likely to happen.
Having opened the scoring through a McAlister penalty in pretty much the first phases of the game, a fantastic break – an incisive angle combined with slippery running and pace – from Robbie Robinson put Gear over for a try in the fifth minute.
McAlister missed the conversion but he made no mistake eight minutes later after Sweeney had brushed aside two would-be tacklers to score, with the Irish defence simply not folding round at enough pace to combat the Maori surges.
Sexton gave Ireland some hope with his first penalty on 16 minutes, however the tourists promptly infringed themselves for McAlister to restore the 15-point advantage.
With 20 minutes gone, all seemed lost, but founded on the running of the exceptional Rhys Ruddock, Ed O'Donoghue, Chris Henry and John Fogarty, Ireland bludgeoned their way upfield again and again and were rewarded with multiple penalties. Sexton landed five more for an 18-18 half-time scoreline.
Ireland stole back their own kick-off to start the second half and from the rucks, Geordan Murphy cut through the middle before finding Paddy Wallace for the Irish's opening try.
Sexton converted, but then the Maori stole back their own restart and won a penalty. McAlister made no mistake.
As Ireland waned slightly, the Maori backs once again looked more likely to score, with Sweeney especially making a nuisance of himself. Two more penalties were earned, but McAlister saw them shooting wide.
Ireland's joy at their reprieve was short-lived, though, as Lowe scored on his Maori debut following a superb run from Sean Maitland. Willie Ripia converted.
Ireland's response was immediate as Sexton slotted over a penalty after the Maori had been harshly penalised at the breakdown.
The Maori, though, retook the lead when Ronan was penalised for handling in the ruck.
Sexton had the chance to level late on, but the Leinster man missed his first kick of the night allowing the Maori to hold on for the win.
The scorers:
For the Maori:
Tries: Gear, Sweeney, Lowe
Cons: McAlister 2
Pens: McAlister 3, Ripia
For Ireland:
Try: Wallace
Con: Sexton
Pens: Sexton 7
New Zealand Maori: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Dwayne Sweeney, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam (capt), 5 Jarrad Hoeata, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Bronson Murray.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Clint Newlands, 18 Romana Graham, 19 Karl Lowe, 20 Ruki Tipuna, 21 Willie Ripia, 22 Jackson Willison.
Ireland: 15 Geordan Murphy (c), 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Gavin Duffy, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Johne Murphy, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Chris Henry, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Tom Court, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 John Hayes, 18 Donncha O'Callaghan, 19 David Wallace, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Rob Kearney.
Date: Friday, June 18
Venue: Rotorua International Stadium
Kick-off: 19:30 (07:30 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)