It’s all or nothing in Dublin clash
The All Blacks will be fooling themselves if they believe a shift from London to Dublin will provide respite in the wake of their controversial win at Twickenham.
Those who harbour grievances, perceived or otherwise, against the All Blacks will cling to the belief that England were robbed by incompetent officials when they lost 16-15 on Sunday morning and good fortune to those who try to convince them otherwise.
Impartial viewers would say the officials were right, once all the angles have been viewed. Evidence that Courtney Lawes was offside at the back of the ruck is compelling, proving that TMO Marius Jonker was right to disallow the try scored by England flanker Sam Underhill because Lawes was offside when he charged down TJ Perenara’s clearing kick in the dying minutes.
But not everyone wants to believe what they see. After referee Jerome Garces ruled the five-pointer a nonsense, on the instructions of Jonker, it was difficult to hear yourself think as the majority of the 82,000 people at Twickenham voiced their disapproval with their jeering and booing.
It was hardly surprising, then, that when the final whistle blew some England supporters could be heard muttering their grievances as they trudged out into the wet London evening.
They had good reason to be disappointed, but not because Underhill’s five-pointer was discounted. It’s undeniable that the All Blacks were extremely fortunate to escape with a victory.
The All Blacks might disagree, saying that even if the try had been approved they would have done everything they could to win the ball from the kick-off and then start grinding up the park to reclaim the lead.
Few international rugby teams have perfected the knack of winning games in the final minutes as well as this lot. But England had been so good in defence and committed to the collisions, that you would have backed them to hold on.
The England forwards played out of their skin, while the All Blacks, even though they were good enough to beat 39 defenders and make 10 clean breaks, were far from clinical. They made 19 turnovers, compared to England’s 10.
Now for the big one. The All Blacks have to forget the terrific fright they got from England, and fix their minds on beating Ireland at Aviva Stadium on Sunday morning.
Ranked one and two in the world, respectively, the two countries will prepare for this as if it is a World Cup final. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, among other things, will have to instil his team with maximum selfbelief as it searches for its first win over the All Blacks on home soil.
Schmidt is unlikely to have to say too much. The Six Nations champions will have looked at the way England, a side that came fifth in that tournament, were able to use their big defensive hits, accurate kicks and lineout drives to force the All Blacks into making errors.
Apart from England boss Eddie Jones, most coaches do everything they can to search for the underdog card; anything to restrict the opposition from using pre-match press clippings as motivation.
The Irish supporters have no reason to hide their emotions. They will believe their team has a good chance. Losing experienced flanker Sean O’Brien, ruled out with the arm injury he suffered against Argentina is a major blow, but the Irish won’t be demoralised.
The All Blacks? For a number of key players – starting with lock Sam Whitelock – this will surely be their last hurrah. Forget the game against Italy in Rome the following weekend. It will be all or nothing in Dublin.