The All Blacks beat Ireland this morning to complete an unbeaten run in tests for the year. ODT Online rugby contributor Jeff Cheshire looks at the key points from the game.
Irish passion v New Zealand fitness
This was really what the game boiled down to in the end. The Irish are notorious for their passion in the first 30 minutes and often stick with the All Blacks for that period, before fading as the game goes on. It was exactly this that happened once more, only this time Ireland's passion took them much further than usual and allowed them to shoot out to a 19-0 lead. With the score at 22-7 at halftime it looked a long way back and the Irish defence was gutsy in holding up until nearly the last minute.
But they were well and truly out on their feet by the last 20 minutes and like they so many times before, it was here that the All Blacks really gained dominance. They had Ireland under all sorts of pressure in the second half and in the end it was too much for them to hold out. The All Blacks piled on 17 points to Ireland's none in the final 40 minutes and in the end it was their ability to play for the full 80 which saw them get home.
One of the traits of this team has been to respond when the pressure goes on and this was the ultimate response to what was a pretty deep hole they dug for themselves.
Special mention must once again go to the bench, who came on and added energy when the game looked to be slipping away. Liam Messam was particularly prominent both in his carrying and in defence, while the two Franks brothers were mobile too.
Under pressure at the breakdown
It was at the breakdown where the All Blacks were under the most pressure. As has been the case all year, they were not committing too many numbers and at times they were slow in getting there.
Ireland responded to this by attacking the All Blacks' ball, sending in three, four, five players to clear out the protection and then make a play for the ball. Sean O'Brien was particularly good in this area where he caused all sorts of problems with his work on the ground. As the game wore on, Ireland did not have quite the same intensity in this area, but it certainly rattled the All Blacks and prevented them from getting much clean attacking ball.
Too many mistakes
Despite quite a one-sided score line early on, the All Blacks were not quite as far out of the game as 19-0 would suggest. They did have their chances on attack, albeit limited ones, and when they had the ball they were finding gaps in the Irish defence, particularly when Aaron Cruden decided to run.
However, they made too many mistakes to make this count, either dropping ball or turning it over at the ruck. Certainly Ireland deserve some credit for the amount of pressure they were putting the All Blacks under, as this made it harder for the All Blacks to operate, but for a side which is normally so clinical, it was nearly their undoing.
Use Julian Savea more
Admittedly the Irish defence was coming up fast and making it hard to get the ball wide, but Julian Savea was devastating and needed to be in the game more. Later in the game he saw more ball and the team consequently looked better for it. He was the most dangerous of the All Black backs on attack, the one man Ireland were really struggling to contain in what was otherwise a pretty good defensive effort.
If the defence is rushing up and getting it to him wide is not possible, bringing him into the line and using him on the inside ball works well too. In the end they did start using him more and they got away with it, but it is something to think about as it was not the first time this year where Savea has been somewhat underutilised.
The worst way to lose?
You had to feel for Ireland. It really is hard to think of a worse way to lose a game. Getting your heart broken on fulltime is bad enough, but to lose due to an early charge on the conversion must be the ultimate hard luck story. While a draw would not have been a win, it would have gone down far better for Ireland and would have reflected the fact that they were the dominant team for half of this match. Although I suppose being from Otago, we know what it feels like to lose important games at the death.
