Ireland now genuine World Cup contenders
BEATING the All Blacks for the first time ever in Chicago two years ago was a massive step for Irish Rugby but beating them on home soil when the Kiwis really wanted the win was something really special.
I watched Saturday’s game from the comfort of a fireside sofa, however at the finish I was completely exhausted and felt as if I had slogged it out on the Lansdowne Road turf for the entire 80 minutes.
New Zealand are the best rugby nation in the world and they don’t take defeat very well. In the build up to Saturday’s game you could hear it in all their pre-match interviews. They were still smarting and hurting from that 2016 defeat in Soldiers Field.
Some Kiwis tried to brush off that 4029 defeat by claiming they were without key players and how they bullied us two weeks later in Dublin beating us 21-9. However you sensed they were coming to the Aviva this time on a mission to put the upstarts in their place.
Following the usual pleasantries, anthems and Haka, the contest took off at a ferocious pace with both teams tearing into each other with little regard for their own physical safety.
Collisions
THE body collisions in the opening 15 minutes were incredible and I thought it was only a matter of time before someone would get seriously injured such was the reckless abandonment which the Irish forwards were throwing themselves into tackles.
There’s no way this intensity can last, I thought to myself as I grimaced at hit after hit. But we continued relentlessly.
One commentator described it as brutality with beauty laced through it. This game had everything.
The 52,000 lucky souls in the stands and the millions watching on TV were kept spellbound for the 80 minutes as both sets of players emptied themselves of everything in pursuit of another inch.
But for all the first half Herculean effort and pressure we still failed to breach the All Black try line. We were winning all the battles but they were still within touching distance. Stockdale’s 50th minute chip and run try was just reward for all that effort.
We needed a try to win the game. Something to hold onto when they drove at us in the final quarter. The players and supporters reaction at the final whistle told you everything.
In such an impressive team performance it’s difficult to single players out. That’s an old cliché but it rang very true on Saturday.
Hardly anybody put a foot wrong. Save for a few Rory Best mistakes in the first half, a loose Jacob Stockdale chip and a couple of dodgy Sean Cronin lineout throws, the Irish starting 15 and replacements were magnificent.
New Zealand’s players and management were gracious and very humble in defeat. Coach Steven Hansen and captain Kieran Reed credited Ireland’s ability, fortitude and tactics. The All Blacks conducted themselves impeccably both on and off the field on Saturday evening.
No nonsense
THERE was none of the nonsense, high hits or cheap shots that we witnessed two years ago at the same venue when some of them reacted disgracefully to that Chicago defeat.
They appear to have gained a new found respect for what Ireland have done - and maybe we’re not now bullied so easily either!
The All Blacks were worried before the weekend. They’re now even more worried as they depart Dublin. They know they have a serious contender for next years World Cup in Japan.
Other countries will have pricked up their ears also and taken notice at the way we put New Zealand on the back foot.
This victory was achieved by playing them at their own game, matching their physicality and intensity, grinding them down and starving them of possession. It was a pleasure to watch. At the final whistle I was both exhilarated and exhausted at the same time.
New Zealand remain favourites for the World Cup but they now have plenty to think about over the next few months. We’ve stolen a march on them for the moment but there is still lots more rugby to be played before Japan next November.
Who would bet against the next time these two side meet being in the World Cup final in Yokohama on November 2nd?
New Zealand are still the yardstick but they’re not as good as they might like you to think.