GREAT ESCAPE
THE ALL BLACKS WERE CHASING A PERFECT SEASON IN 2013 BUT WERE GOING TO COME UP SHORT WHEN THEY WERE FIVE POINTS DOWN IN THEIR FINAL GAME AGAINST IRELAND WITH JUST 40 SECONDS TO GO. SOMEHOW THEY MANAGED TO WIN, SHOWING ALL THE QUALITIES THAT DEFINE THEM IN
Five points behind with just 30 seconds remaining, the All Blacks produced one of the best 90-second passages of rugby ever seen in November 2013. They conjured a winning try that showed all of their defining qualities.
There was simply no way the All Blacks could escape. They were going to have to resign themselves to their fate – which was to be the first All Blacks side to lose a test to Ireland.
There was no way out. The clock was showing 79 minutes played and maybe 20-odd seconds. They were trailing Ireland 22-17. And worse, Ireland had the ball and were in the All Blacks half, albeit only just.
It had been an epic encounter. The All Blacks had come to Dublin for their last test of 2013 seeking to become the first team in the professional era to go through a calendar year unbeaten.
They had been quite sensational at times during the year and, having beaten France and England in previous weeks, the expectation was strong they would have enough in the tank to beat an Ireland side that had shown little form up until then.
Expectation couldn’t have been more wrong. Ireland were 19-0 up in as many minutes and threatening to destroy the All Blacks. The visitors barely touched the ball in the first 25 minutes and were being blitzed by a team that could do no wrong.
It was all going wrong for the All Blacks who, while they stemmed the tide slightly in the next 30 minutes, still found themselves 22-7 down. A try to Ben Franks with 16 minutes left gave them some hope they were still a chance. They had clawed their way back into the game on sheer willpower alone. They managed to dig incredibly deep to find the energy to hold the ball for longer, to run Ireland’s defence to the widest parts and keep battering them. But as much as they fought and lowered Ireland’s resistance, they couldn’t get the vital score they needed and with only 30 seconds left, surely it was too late.
Few teams would have had any belief at that desperate stage, but the All Blacks were different. They scrapped so hard at a tackled ball that they won a penalty when Ireland refused to release. It was a chance of sorts. The ball was theirs, yet the clock said they had only 20 seconds and had to make it 60 metres to score. Improbable rather than impossible.