By kick-off here at a packed Lansdowne Road a steady flow of traffic had done a drive-by of the All Blacks social media post from earlier in the day. It featured footage of the final two minutes from the game 11 years ago between these teams, on this pitch, where New Zealand raised themselves from the dead: another harrowing event for the home team and their supporters; another flag planted on the All Blacks’ hill of invincibility.
The final two minutes here told a different story: no need to overhaul a deficit, no need to nail a touchline conversion, no need to sweat any bullets. With 11 minutes left they were two scores clear against a side trying hard but achieving very little.
Ireland were second best at everything, which is a slap in the chops for a side on a 19-game winning streak at home, and favoured to make it 20. They looked like a team on an end of season tour where they were running out of ideas and energy.
What started out in Dublin as a grey, still day had changed by kick-off into a wet night where dealing with ball on the ground was going to be a challenge. Well, for Ireland it was.
A greasy pill invariably means more set scrums which can suck the life out of any game. It took a long time for this one to breathe, but when it quickened up Ireland were well off the pace.
The only time they looked comfortable in the first half was when Jack Crowley tapped over his second penalty to cut the deficit from 9-3 to 9-6. It had been hard to watch except for the bits when New Zealand got on a roll, beyond the kicking duel between Crowley and man of the match, Damian McKenzie.
By the break Ireland’s lineout was looking like an internet connection that kept dropping. Just like their passes. And the referee, Nic Berry, was growing tired of Caelan Doris’s questioning. Ireland were unable to pose anything tricky to their visitors. The exception was the try from Josh van der Flier scored with Jordie Barrett in the sin-bin for a high shot on Garry Ringrose at the end of the half.
That speedy execution was the height of Ireland’s night. You wondered why McKenzie didn’t look to extend those phases of retention instead of punting for position, for the last thing Ireland wanted was him or Will Jordan running at them. Especially given the energy the home team spent on keeping their defensive line intact. And when they had the ball Ireland couldn’t combine tempo with ball retention. You could sense the All Blacks’ confidence lifting with every spillage.
They were helped by a poor call against Finlay Bealham at a scrum, which allowed McKenzie regain the lead, and on 65 minutes he tacked on another for 18-13. By the time that was sinking in, the home side were coughing up another piece of possession.
With the game easing around the corner into the final straight the All Blacks finally did as expected, and held the ball long enough to get over the line. Jordan was under no pressure to touch down with 10 minutes left and the home side were looking stuck for both ideas and technique.
For New Zealand it gives huge momentum now to the rest of the tour, and to the journey under their next coaching crew. They were favourites for a silver medal here but won so well Ireland looked lost. The home team’s run of 19 Tests didn’t just end, but fell into a hole in the road. They were beaten out the gate on all metrics, getting on the wrong side of referee the harder they tried to get on terms.
It changes the look of what comes next in this Autumn Nations Series which Ireland had hoped to use as a launching pad for the Six Nations. They will need time to review the issues out of touch and the lack of impact off the bench. Losing Tom O’Toole so soon after coming on was awkward for sure, but then so is their lack of depth at prop forward.
New Zealand in contrast looked fresh and well resourced. They were sharper and more accurate about everything. It’s a while since Ireland have been left looking at such a yawning gap between them and their opponents.
