Man of the Match Ardie Savea reacts to All Blacks overcoming two yellow cards

In a quarter-final for the ages, the All Blacks have prevailed to book a spot in the semi-finals at the Rugby World Cup.

Ireland’s 17-game winning run came to a brutal end on a monumental night in Paris, where 151-cap All Black veteran Sam Whitelock put a full stop on the match with a breakdown turnover deep into extra time.

The match swung back and forth but for all of Ireland’s efforts, New Zealand led throughout.

Man of the Match was New Zealand’s influential No 8 Ardie Savea, who contributed a try along with a team-high in carries, linebreaks and turnovers won.

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He reflected on the superb performance postmatch.

“There was a lot riding on this week,” he said. “It was one of those test matches that was a battle.

“To go out there and play against a world-class Irish squad, we gave the fans what they wanted. A big testament to this Irish team. They have set the standard this whole year. I just want to send love to them. I am just so proud of my boys.”

The All Blacks were down to 14 men twice in the match, with Aaron Smith spending time on the sideline for a deliberate knockdown and Codie Taylor sin-binned for collapsing a maul which led to a penalty try in the 63rd minute.

Smith’s 10 minutes also saw te All Blacks concede a try, that time through a solo effort by his opposite Jamison Gibson-Park who closed the gap to 17-18 just moments before the halftime break.

Surrendering points but not the lead during both yellow cards, New Zealand maintained control of the match through their resilient defence and game management.

“To be honest, I kind of didn’t notice,” Savea said of the effort when down a man. “We just had to dig deep and we got through in the end.”

Captain Sam Cane would have also received votes for Man of the Match, chewing through a game-high 21 tackles and equalling Savea’s tally for turnovers.

“We don’t want to be playing with 14 men but we had to twice there,” he said. “The boys dug a bit deeper.

“The defence was outstanding tonight. We were able to hold them out for long periods and I think ultimately that’s what won it for us.

“I’m super-stoked. I want to thank all our supporters. There are plenty here and all the ones who are back home, it means a lot. I can’t wait to get stuck into another week.”

Knockout

11 - 12

Final

6 - 44

SF1

15 - 16

SF2

17 - 29

QF1

24 - 28

QF2

30 - 24

QF3

28 - 29

QF4

That next week will see the team face familiar Rugby Championship rivals Argentina, another match that promises bruising physicality.

“There will be some tired bodies. The first couple of days will be about getting our recovery and filling up the tank again. We are looking forward to it and I can’t wait.”