All Blacks power over Ireland as Beirne sees red early

The All Blacks have surged home in Chicago to beat Ireland 26-13 after falling behind by 10-0 in the early stages to start their end-of-year tour in hot form.

Scott Robertson’s side emphatically put their second half woes behind them, overcoming a half-time deficit to power over Ireland in the final quarter with three tries to Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi and Cam Roigard.

The turning point came from a scrum, just ten metres out from the All Blacks’ own goal line with the score 14-13.

A huge cutout pass from Roigard to Clarke across the face the goal posts led to a huge break, with Clarke screaming down the left touchline before kicking over the top. James Lowe was forced to clean up and kick it into touch, handing the All Blacks an attacking lineout.

From there the All Blacks took control, with a brilliant line from Damian McKenzie running onto a visionary pass by Beauden Barrett cutting open Ireland during phase play. McKenzie found Sititi back inside for a try next to the posts, giving New Zealand an eight-point advantage at 21-13 with 13 minutes to go.

Roigard put the game on ice with a snipe from a scrum five metres out with four minutes remaining, cutting back twice off the left foot through Ireland’s loose forwards to crash over.

A final team try to Leicester Fainga’anuku deep into injury time was over-ruled for a forward pass in the lead up, but the spectator try added to the statement as Ireland were left reeling. The All Blacks continued to play well past the 80th minute in order to break Ireland one last time.

Earlier, it was a disruptive start for both sides with Ireland lock Tadhg Beirne yellow carded for a no-arms shot on first five-eighth Beauden Barrett inside three minutes. The decision was upgraded to a red card following a review.

It was a horror start to the afternoon for the Barrett family, captain Scott Barrett was forced from the field in the third minute after an innocuous carry off the ruck, replaced by Josh Lord with Ardie Savea taking over the captaincy duties.

Jordie was next to succumb to injury following a loose ball recovery from a high bomb in the 12th minute. An awkward fall saw Barrett’s leg folded underneath a defender. He attempted to play on through strapping but was replaced by Leicester Fainga’anuku a few minutes later.

Despite having a man down for 20 minutes, it was Ireland who managed to take control of the game. Ireland opened the scoring 3-0 with a long-range penalty goal to Jack Crowley after a line break by Caleb Clarke was called back for obstruction.

A surge of momentum came from Ireland running down the blindside with Jamison Gibson-Park directing runners and a nice offload from Crowley sparking a half-break.

After getting front foot ball and a ruck penalty, Ireland kicked to the corner where a power set from the lineout rolling right saw veteran prop Tadhg Furlong crash over following relentless carries giving Ireland a 10-0 lead.

The response from New Zealand came quickly with Fainga’anuku’s first touch producing an offload to Will Jordan for a line break. He beat Ringrose to the outside and sucked in two defenders into contact.

From the Jordan break, smart play by Roigard shifted the ball quickly to the opposite flank that found Ardie Savea to score in the corner to cut the lead to 10-7.

A neck roll on Quinn Tupaea, who positioned over the ball for a ruck contest, gave the All Blacks another attacking chance from five out. A pinched lineout became the second missed chance from that field position as Ireland’s lineout defence held strong.

Ireland had their chances, a break down towards the left touchline ended with a pushed offload into touch with pressure from right wing Leroy Carter, while missed lineouts squandered their own launches.

The Irish finished with just 60 per cent lineout completion in the first half, while the All Blacks missed key throws inside Ireland’s 22. Both sides were plagued by turnovers with Ireland edging New Zealand 6-5 in a messy first half.

Ireland grabbed momentum to start the second half with a grinding set of phases from a scrum play that worked down inside New Zealand’s 22. The All Blacks escaped twice, the second time from a key ruck turnover steal from Ardie Savea.

Crowley extended Ireland’s lead to 13-7 after James Lowe recovered a towering Gibson-Park box kick, leading to attacking phases. A penalty for not rolling combined with 10 metres for backchat made the kick straightforward.

Discipline plagued the All Blacks as the penalty count became lopsided at 10-5 before they were able to turn the game around, with reinforcements from the bench playing a key role.

Quinn Tupaea won his second ruck penalty of the day on a kick chase following an Irish knock-on. Will Jordan cleaned up the loose ball and after his kick downfield, Tupaea isolated the Irish backfield.

The All Blacks opted for a quick tap from five out after back-to-back penalties. Reserve prop Tamaiti Williams crashed over after a tip pass from Taylor to Wallace Sititi got down to one metre out. Barrett’s conversion gave New Zealand a 14-13 lead, their first lead of the afternoon.

That was the story of the game for Ireland, who blew numerous chances inside the 22 while the All Blacks got it together in the final quarter, boosted by their strong bench to power home and keep their ‘Grand Slam’ hopes alive.