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All Blacks v Ireland takes: Local favourite delivers, Ireland behind the eight-ball
at Eden Park, Auckland
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The All Blacks have finished their three-Test July Nations Championship window with a 19-point, 40-21 triumph over Andy Farrell’s Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday evening.
With Eden Park’s record on the line, Ireland entered the contest in solid form, also winning their two Nations Championship fixtures as they looked to beat the All Blacks in Auckland.
The home side started strongly, leading 14-0 in the opening half hour before Ireland hit back through Jack Conan with Luke Jacobson in the bin.
Both teams held each other out defensively in the second half, but the All Blacks managed to keep their cool in the final quarter to go three-from-three under Dave Rennie.
VIDEO
Here are some takeaways from Eden Park.
The start, at last!
The All Blacks have started their first two Nations Championship encounters by going down early. In Christchurch, against France, the visitors took the lead within two minutes. Against Italy in Wellington, Gonzalo Quesada’s men opened the scoring in the third minute.
But, thankfully for Rennie’s men, the Ireland Test was different. The home side opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Blues lock Patrick Tuipulotu. It was a great move, backed by the All Blacks forwards using their power up front. Then, in the 22nd minute, they backed their scrum and turned down three points from right out in front.
The scrum was solid, the platform was set, before Ardie Savea took the ball off the back of the scrum and dotted down to the right of the posts. 14-0 All Blacks, and the first time under Rennie that they have led early on in the Test match.
Fatigue? Long-season? Or, poor?
It was a dire first half from Andy Farrell’s men at Eden Park. Loose passes and error-ridden. They couldn’t gather themselves at all during the first half, and only looked threatening when the All Blacks went down to 14 men.
Maybe it’s because of a long, energy-sapping season, but they were behind the eight-ball in Auckland from minute one. Jacobson’s yellow card in the 27th minute could have been a turning point if upgraded, but it’s hard to fathom some of the skill execution on show from Ireland.
Stuart McCloskey’s pass to ground saw Will Jordan go in untouched, while Robert Baloucoune’s run with the ball in one hand saw Love earn a 50/22 shortly after.
The second half was an improvement on the defensive side of the ball, and they looked a tad more dangerous in attack, but it wasn’t an ideal night of ball playing on a dewy Eden Park surface.
The definitive answer remains whether this can be put down to fatigue, a long season, or the All Blacks’ performance forcing Ireland to make errors, but it was a disappointing end to the visitors’ season.
The battle of the two No.10’s
Saturday evening was a mixed bag for Sam Prendergast, while Ruben Love had yet another mature performance, without setting the world on fire.
The game didn’t pan out the way Ireland wanted too, which does help to explain their No.10’s outing.
The Ireland No.10, playing in a quarterback role during the first half, had limited opportunities to run the ball and reverted largely to shifting the ball to his forward pack. The Leinster first-five didn’t kick overly much during the first half, but the whole squad struggled to gain any momentum in the contest.
Love’s first half was strong, even without taking on the line as he did against France in Christchurch. His 50/22 late in the first half was a great option, which led to Hurricanes teammate Asafo Aumua’s 38th-minute five-pointer.
The Hurricanes first-five left the field early in the second-half with what looked like a lower leg injury, but he played a solid part in a few All Blacks tries on the night.
Predergast’s second half started with more promise, providing Ireland with one long in-play kick and using his running game more often. But one Ireland counter-attack just needed a pinpoint pass, but Prendergast’s shift was too high for his Irish teammate.
In an odd decision, or lack of execution, the Ireland first-five went for a spiral kick after his defence earned a hard-fought penalty close to their own line. His kick, which went nowhere near the touchline, gifted the All Blacks back possession.
Home patch Tuipulotu
The All Blacks have clearly missed a strong ball carrier in the opening two Nations Championship fixtures, which is what the Blues captain brought to the Eden Park contest.
Pick-and-go’s, quick fingertip passes, and more. Tuipulotu changed the direction of the attack on multiple occasions, banging down the front door when Ireland thought the ball might shift.
His 14th-minute try epitomised what the experienced lock brought to the contest. Tuiputlotu hit a nice down line, through the Ireland defence and close to the posts.
Sam Darry was unlucky to miss out against Ireland; his first two performances warranted another shot, but his replacement took his chance, making 13 carries in his stint on the field.
It won’t be the pretty stuff that will please Rennie the most, but likely the variety of Tuipulotu’s carries, which helped the All Blacks get considerable go-forward during his 57- minute shift.
Watch Hemispheres collide as North faces South in the brand new Nations Championship. Live matches, replays and highlights free on RugbyPass TV here
