- Ireland record their first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand.
- Ireland lost their composure as they progressed through the phases.
- Caelan Doris put out a heroic effort that included a magnificent tap tackle on Jordie Barrett.
After a tumultuous game, Ireland prevailed to even the three-match series and record their first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand.
After 31 minutes of a highly unruly first half in Dunedin, Angus Ta’avao was given the red card, permanently reducing the All Blacks to 14 men.
The visitors held the lead the entire time thanks to tries from Andrew Porter in either half.
The winner-takes-all meeting in Wellington the following week will decide the series.
Prior to 2016, Ireland had never defeated New Zealand. Since then, they have triumphed in four of the last seven encounters, with their most recent victory serving as perhaps the most illustrative case of the advancements made under Andy Farrell.
Their cause was helped by a brutally unruly New Zealand team, whose first-half discipline issues temporarily reduced them to 13 men twice, with them only posing an attacking danger in the latter portions of both halves.
Next week, Ireland will expect a huge response, but they won’t be afraid as they pursue what would be a remarkable series victory.
Ireland gained access over disorganized All Blacks
The fact that the All Blacks were somehow just three points behind at the end of a first-half that lasted nearly an hour would have given the hosts a big boost as they entered the locker rooms.
They created a lot of their own issues, as astonishing disobedience resulted in a red card and two yellow cards, giving Ireland their greatest chance ever to win in New Zealand.
All 10 of the visitors’ first-half points came before any cards were given, but they never took advantage of their numerical advantage.
Similar to how they did a week earlier in Auckland, Ireland exploded out of the gates and this time found the try-line in three minutes, as Porter scored after Tadhg Beirne made a big carry in the middle.
The Irish got off to a devastatingly accurate start as the All Blacks were unable to establish any form of rhythm.
After 17 minutes, they were down to 14, thanks to Leicester Fainga’anuku’s dismissal for colliding shoulder-first with Mack Hansen. The young Crusaders winger narrowly avoided receiving a yellow card because Hansen was his first point of contact.
Beauden Barrett made a try-saving interception as Ireland continued to dominate and had numbers out wide barely a meter from the line.
Although it appeared that New Zealand had escaped punishment, television replays revealed that Ofa Tu’ungafasi had tackled Garry Ringrose while the center was about to receive an inside pass from Johnny Sexton.
Even though Ringrose appeared to be the favorite to run unimpeded to the try-line without being stopped, referee Jaco Peyper decided against giving the penalty try and instead sent Tu’ungafasi to the sin bin because he felt there were enough cover tacklers.
When Ta’avao crashed head-first into Ringrose during the first 25 minutes of play, Peyper had no choice but to dismiss the replacement prop since New Zealand was out of sorts and on the defensive.
Even worse, key back row Ardie Savea was benched to make room for prop Aidan Ross, with the Kiwi management ostensibly believing they could reinstate Savea once Tu’ungafasi’s sin-bin period was up. However, they were unable to do so.
The All Blacks had nightmares because of it, although they were only 10 points down. Ireland twice found themselves momentarily playing against 13 men, but they wasted those opportunities to score tries as inaccuracy took hold.
The hosts picked up the pace with five minutes left in the half and for the first time in the match pushed into the Irish 22.
Ireland lost their composure as they progressed through the phases, with James Ryan receiving a yellow card for persistent infractions.
A try seemed inescapable, and it eventually materialized when Beauden Barrett miraculously brought his team within three points with a kick through Porter’s legs and grounding.
With a numerical advantage for the entirety of the half, Ireland knew they had a chance to achieve history if they could regain their fluency.
When Porter completed a smooth play with a strong leg drive in the 49th minute, they regained control of the game as they had at the beginning of the first half.
In the scrum and the line-out, where New Zealand sorely lacked lock Sam Whitelock, the visitors were dominating where they faltered a week prior.
Despite being somewhat quiet by his high standards in Auckland, Caelan Doris put out a heroic effort that included a magnificent tap tackle on Jordie Barrett to halt the full-back from racing away for a try.
The Dunedin fans anticipated a response from their team, but in reality, there was never a real threat to Ireland’s lead during the second half.
Before New Zealand finally drove into the 22 and Will Jordan scored in the corner, Sexton had given Ireland a 16-point lead. With two minutes left, though, the damage had already been done to the hosts.
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