Ireland player ratings vs New Zealand
So, Ireland’s glass ceiling remains unbroken. Nine times they have been to the World Cup, nine times they have been eliminated without progressing beyond the quarter-finals.
This defeat was as frustrating as any other, a devastating example of how previous shortcomings get repeated.
Having fallen 17 points into arrears after 15 minutes in their previous quarter-final under Schmidt four years ago, the clear lesson was not to start as poorly again in knockout stage rugby.
However, the only difference between Cardiff and Tokyo was that the All Blacks were seven minutes slower than Argentina were in jumping 17-0 clear by the 22nd minute.
Ireland did admittedly fight back in 2015, rallying to just 23-20 behind with an hour played before falling apart. Here, though, with their handling far too poor and their impact in the collision ineffectual, they simply couldn’t get off the mark and the leakage only ever got worse.
It was an unanswered 22 points by the interval, an unanswered 34 around the hour and even though Ireland did manage a pair of late consolation tries, New Zealand kept scoring too and their seven tries to two success was emphatic.
(Continue reading below…)
Schmidt now exits stage left after this 46-14 defeat, his Ireland tenure over after 76 matches in six years, leaving his old sparring partner Steve Hansen to take his defending champion All Blacks forward to a semi-final showdown versus England. Here’s how Schmidt’s players rated on an extremely disappointing day.
ROB KEARNEY – 4
His first-half highlight was covering alertly to sniff out a Richie Mo’unga kick ahead on 11 minutes when the All Blacks were trying to find George Bridge. His opening lowlight was being too flat to take a wraparound off Johnny Sexton, an error that left to the concession of the third try. Offered nothing in the attack was and gone on 54 for Jordan Larmour who had made two fleeting first-half cameos for blood injuries elsewhere in the backline.
KEITH EARLS – 4
Was given an early awakening when crashed into by the ball-dislodging Jack Goodhue and his defence when questionable when his stepping in created the space for New Zealand to attack for their second try. Similar to Kearney, he was anonymous in the attack.
An excellent record in 75 matches in six years boils down to a single 80 minutes in Tokyo for Joe Schmidt as Ireland go head to head against his native New Zealandhttps://t.co/4ur0hNf9oj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 18, 2019
GARRY RINGROSE – 5
Missed four minutes in the blood bin early on but also went missing at times when on the pitch as well as the speed of the All Blacks’ handling tested his defence to the limit. Concession of a penalty for a high tackle added to his woe on a nigh that was all about a rearguard slog.
ROBBIE HENSHAW – 5
Looked like he had set a high tempo defensive tone with a feisty early tackle on Ardie Savea, but that collision was a mirage. A soft knock-on when targeted by Sam Cane illustrate his team’s unease in possession and, like Ringrose, he too spent a few minutes in the blood bin getting first-half repairs. Stuck at it and at least grabbed a consolation try.
JACOB STOCKDALE – 4
Tried to open his box of tricks with an unorthodox run behind the scrum on his first possession and he was then agonisingly close to picking off an intercept that instead became the deliberate knock-on that gave the All Blacks an early 3-0 lead. Later produced fabulous catch off a Sexton restart. Other than that, had the legs run off him by New Zealand’s trickery in the attack, as highlighted by the game’s closing try when his defending was naive.
Ireland's Johnny Sexton believes the war in Dublin three years ago with the All Blacks changed the face of what is acceptable nowadays in rugby
https://t.co/wMHxo4twBQ— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 18, 2019
JOHNNY SEXTON – 4
Was acutely aware that territory was massively important, as highlighted by an early cross-kick that was punted merely to get Ireland out of their half. Was incredibly denied by Mo’unga’s acrobatics to keep a penalty to touch in play over the touchline. Came in for much attention from the opposition pack throughout, as highlighted by one clatter from Cane. Was then at fault for the ball loss that led to New Zealand’s breakaway third try. A halt was eventually called to his very difficult day with Ireland trailing 34-0.
CONOR MURRAY – 5
Early directness suggested he was up for this but instead Aaron Smith became the dominant scrum-half, his two first-half tries leaving Murray and co suffering from scoreboard pressure that was highlight by soft knock-on when on a first-half loop with James Ryan.
CIAN HEALY – 4
His concession of an in at the side penalty on 26 minutes highlighted his pack’s general frustration at losing the physical battle. The contest was played out at a tempo that left his flagging and he was gone on 49 minutes for Dave Kilcoyne after New Zealand had just added their fourth try.
RORY BEST – 5
Not the way for his reputable career to end. Instead of departing on a high, it petered out here after he enjoyed an energetic start. However, his effort wasn’t matched by some others, something encapsulated by how he was the lone tackler on Smith at the opening try when there was no guard cover at the side of the ruck. At least he departed to an ovation from the Irish fans on 63 minutes.
TADHG FURLONG – 5
Talked a good game in the build-up but never delivered and he was another swamped by the collective power and precision of the All Blacks’ approach. His discomfort was epitomised by how he knocked on when trying to tidy up after Ryan couldn’t take a 19th-minute lineout catch. Within a minute, Ireland were back under their posts having conceded a second try. Lasted until the fourth New Zealand try and then gave way to Andrew Porter.
IAIN HENDERSON – 4
It was always the fear about Henderson, his struggle to stick two high level performances together in successive matches. He did step forward to take a pressure lineout catch inside his 22 nine minutes in but other than a healthy number of tackles as the onslaught mounted, there was little else positive about what he contributed and he was gone on 49 minutes for Tadhg Beirne.
Can Ireland get into their first Rugby World Cup semi-final?
Follow our match centre here | https://t.co/I552F1dytI pic.twitter.com/ziPoHH7X3v— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 19, 2019
JAMES RYAN – 6
This was a bit like watching Paul O’Connell when Ireland were hosed at the 2003 finals by France. Like O’Connell was back then, Ryan had become his team’s most hugely influential forward in the lead up the biggest game of his career, but he was picked off too easily here by a Kiwi pack that had done its homework on how to best neutralise his influence.
PETER O’MAHONY – 5
Hit a purple patch when Ireland trailed 17-0, stealing a New Zealand lineout and then securing a no-release penalty with an excellent poach. These ‘wins’ though amounted to crumbs and his frustrating outing was defined by the unnecessary tackle with the clock in the red at the end of the first half which saw a penalty decision reversed against Ireland. Was hauled off for Rhys Ruddock before the All Blacks put the game to bed with their fourth try.
JOSH VAN DER FLIER – 4
Has had enjoyable days before against the All Blacks but he looked out of his depth here against a pack that spelt trouble from the first minute. Put in a double-digit shift in the tackle but he is not the type of ball carrying player to rescue his team in an emergency such as this.
CJ STANDER – 5
Got bottled up on his first carry, which became the story his tough day. He had clearly been identified as Ireland’s primary ball-carrying threat so there was a queue of tacklers always waiting for him. Still made some metres but it was immaterial. So too was his high tackle count.
WATCH: Ireland’s Stephen Ferris in the RugbyPass Rugby World Cup Memories series
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments