>> Stockdale try shocks All Blacks
IRELAND, for the first time on home soil, beat New Zealand amid extraordinary scenes at a riotous Avia Stadium in a game that more than lived up to its billing as the unofficial world championship for 2018.
New Zealand might remain the world ranked number one side but Ireland are manifestly right there with them as joint favourites for the World Cup in Japan next year.
The win was well deserved, there was no element of luck, with Ireland’s rock-solid defence at the heart of it. New Zealand have been averaging nearly six tries per game in the Rugby Championship but have found it tougher going up in the Northern Hemisphere with one against England last week and none last night in Dublin.
And all this without the injured Conor Murray, Sean O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw and Dan Leavy. This squad has rightly been touted as the strongest in Irish history with the likes of Josh van der Flier, nominally the third choice openside flanker, enjoying a stormer along with the rest of his back row.
“It was tiring but you can’t get tired with a crowd like that, with a noise like that,” said CJ Stander one of many Irish contenders for MOM. “We worked hard, we stood up, everybody wanted to make it personal and we did. What a great day, what a win to celebrate.”
The first half saw both protagonists tear into each other with serious intent but few scoring opportunities. Lesser opponents would have buckled but ultimately 40 ferocious minutes ended with Ireland leading 9-6, three penalties to Jonny Sexton against two from Beauden Barrett.
New Zealand, slow out of the blocks against England last week, rectified that and ruthlessly put the squeeze on Ireland for the first four minutes of the game before a joint turnover from van der Flier and Stander relieved the siege and earned a cheer worthy of a World Cup winning final.
Sexton and Barrett then swapped penalties before Ireland began to enjoy a period of dominance and force penalties from New Zealand who, with nine conceded before the break, were possibly lucky not to have a man binned.
First Liam Squire hit Stander with a seat belt tackle which rode up into the neck. Wayne Barnes got that one right with just a simple penalty but Sam Whitelock, already offside as he came through at a line out, was extremely fortunate when he played the ball as Ireland looked to launch a move while sat on the ground.
To his credit, Barnes seems to have been one of the few referees to have received and understood the memo requesting that the TMO be used much more sparingly although he had no choice moments later when Rob Kearney, chasing a Sexton chip to the line, appeared to ground amid a flurry of bodies.
His on field decision was try but he recognised there had been a lot going on and the replay revealed that Kearney had lost possession in trying to regather and reach for the line.
Onwards the game progressed. Sexton kicked a second penalty, Jacob Stockdale ran promisingly on a couple of occasions and then, with New Zealand playing advantage, Barrett opted for a dropped kick rather than launch a trademark cross field kick. Until this tour he had never kicked a dropped goal in Test rugby, now he had landed one on successive Saturdays.
Ireland upped the pace again as half-time approached and again New Zealand were forced to concede a barrage of penalties, the last one being in front of the posts. Sexton was all for putting the ball in the corner again in the hunt for a possible seven points but Rory Best was keen to take three points on offer. Never look a gift horse in
the mouth against New Zealand.
It was sharp and edgy after the break. Stockdale breathed a sigh of relief when Kieran Read knocked on having charged down his chip and it seemed New Zealand would surge through and score.
Peter O’Mahony produced an important turnover and then, at the first scrum after New Zealand had brought on their entire replacement front row, Ireland scored a peach of a try from a scrum 35m out.
Bundee Aki ran a nice line off Sexton to switch the direction of attack and Stockdale, in space, this time judged his chip perfectly. The Ulsterman hit the afterburners and won the chase for the ball with his momentum seeing him slide over for a rapturously received try, his 12th in 14 Tests. Sexton added to the feel good factor with a superb touchline conversion.
If New Zealand were a bit fortunate not to lose a man in the first half, Ireland also rode their luck a little when Kearney badly mistimed his challenge on the leaping Rieko Ioane and the Kiwi wing fell painfully to ground. Again Barnes was unmoved but again he was consistent and trusted his own judgement and refused to go to the TMO.
O’Mahony was enjoying a stormer, emptying the tank when New Zealand were pressing hard. At one point he miraculously chased back to regather the ball just ahead of Ben Smith who thought he was in for a try and then, with his last play before departing with a strained hamstring, he latched on to claim a priceless turnover as New Zealand again threatened.
His diehard spirit epitomised a famous Ireland win in a match that didn’t disappoint.