Ireland failed to deliver against New Zealand last night.
We all know what Andy Farrell’s Ireland are capable of, but last night we just didn’t see it.
With the Aviva’s capacity crowd charged by a Rieko Ioane-led Haka pre-game, this one was teed up to be a cracker.
But for Ireland, at least, it was a whimper instead.
Ill-disciplined and error-ridden, the Irish performance was far removed from the heights seen in recent campaigns, leaving plenty of room for improvement in the coming weeks.
Interestingly, it seems it’s not only the Irish media who are critical of the Ireland team this morning, but the Kiwi press too.
National newspaper the NZ Herald, for instance, opened their match report with the line ‘Ireland’s quest for redemption turned to a horror movie’.
Chief sports writer Liam Napier wrote: ‘Ireland, playing their first test since July, were rusty in an underwhelming performance.
‘ They lacked continuity with 21 basic handling errors disrupting their flow and frequent penalties – 13 to All Blacks’ five – proving costly.
‘Missing 31 tackles didn’t help, either,’ he added, before then delivering the killer line:
‘Ireland have adopted the Zombie theme song ‘in your head’ but on this occasion, they were their own worst enemies.
‘The All Blacks, however, deserve credit for forcing those cracks.’
Ouch. It reads as though the Kiwis enjoyed this win with extra enthusiasm.
Maybe because they crushed the idea that Ireland ‘were unlucky on the day’ in last year’s World Cup edition of this rivalry. Some maintain that Ireland were the best team at the tournament.
With back-to-back wins over Farrell’s side, however, they are entitled to feel a sense of superiority, and the NZ Herald believes things are about to get even better for the All Blacks.
‘Their ninth win this season – fifth in a row – could well be the making of Scott Robertson’s courageous All Blacks.’
‘Successive wins over England and Ireland on their treasured home patches sends a signal to the world that, after a scratchy start to the year, this All Blacks team is, indeed, evolving, maturing and discovering their identity.’
If they continue on this trajectory then World Cup 2027 best be ready.
