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What Ireland spoke about at halftime before closing out All Blacks win
Andy Farrell enjoyed the freedom of Dublin on Saturday night, so much so that he arrived in for his post-game Ireland media briefing and proceeded to comfortably plonk himself into a seat that had a bright yellow sticker in front of it stating: “Do not sit here.” The pandemic is clearly over for the Englishman in terms of his results with Ireland.
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Whereas they were initially tepid, reaching a crisis point last February where defeats in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations equated to Ireland’s worst start to the championship since 1998, they are now racing ahead of expectation and Saturday’s success against the All Blacks was their seventh on the bounce.
By the time they head to Paris on February 12 for the second round game versus France in the 2022 Six Nations, that sequence of Ws could well have stretched to nine as Ireland respectively have Argentina and Wales in Dublin next weekend and at the start of the championship before they heads off on their travels.
The Aviva Stadium is definitely a place of cosiness for Farrell, the win over the All Blacks being the eleventh success in a dozen home games since the ex-England assistant was promoted from his Ireland assistant’s role under Joe Schmidt.
As the master of the D, he already had a reputation of being quite a nuisance to New Zealand. He helped Stuart Lancaster’s England over the line against them in 2012, did likewise twice with Ireland in 2016 and 2018, and sandwiched in the middle of those Irish exploits was that dramatically drawn three-game Test series with the 2017 Lions.
What is rare is wonderful in sport but what is becoming increasingly familiar can be just as magical as was proven with Ireland beating the All Blacks for the third time in five meetings… #Ireland #IREvNZR #AutumnNationsSeries #AllBlackshttps://t.co/HZjRz6sJMY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 13, 2021
For sure, Farrell had an enormous influence when it came to frustrating the All Blacks in his capacity as a defensive mastermind but as a head coach still serving his apprenticeship, what was it about the Ireland approach this weekend that so unnerved Ian Foster’s team and left the Kiwis deservedly on the wrong side of the 29-20 scoreline? “Just being ourselves, doing what we said we would do and fully understanding how we were going to go about it and trusting ourselves to play how we said we were going to play. That is it in a nutshell really. I thought we were composed enough to not get distracted along the way, to play the game we wanted to play.
“The game is all about creating opportunities and with that, you also get a bit of field position and territory. We created quite a bit of opportunity, certainly in the first half. Did we get the reward for it? We could have been better, we could have been more clinical, but the opportunities were being created and it allowed us to keep a hold of the game.
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“We were frustrated (at half-time)… but the feeling from the players was when we were at our best we were causing them trouble so the sense of confidence was there. We talked about just being calm and sticking to the process. There are all sorts of things that can go through your mind regarding thinking too far ahead as regards winning.
“It’s about the process of everything, making sure our exits were clean, which they were, making sure our kicking game was spot on, which was great from time to time, and to just keep playing. Even in the last ten minutes. We have seen so many sides against the All Blacks just try and shut up shop. You have to just keep playing, sticking to the process and back ourselves – and we did that.”
PLAYER RATINGS: Incredible effort from Ireland with some new heroes emerging ?#Ireland #IREvNZR #AutumnNationsSeries #AllBlacks
https://t.co/71rzsBAAI4— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 13, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
I’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
19 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
19 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
12 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
19 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
12 Go to commentsAfter missing the curfew, the player was simply too “Shagged” to stand up.
12 Go to commentsVernier is probably the best 12 in the world though she has some English competition these days . I am nervous for England because it is unpredictable France and who knows which team will turn up, but they have not yet shown anything that should worry England, Saturday could be a different day. I would be more confident against the BFs.
1 Go to commentsWhat a difference Rodda and Carter made. Rodda has been out for ages but he is really the only world class lock in Australian rugby. Him, Carter and Beale made a huge difference on the weekend. If only they had a few decent props they’d be a much more dangerous team. Hamish Stewart was excellent last week as well. His carrying has improved significantly and has to be next in line after Paisami at 12 for the Wallabies. He’ll benefit hugely with Beale at fullback, there’s just no better communicator in Australian rugby than him and his experience will make a huge difference for the Force. No one sees space like Beale and he’s still sharp. I can see Force making a late charge into the top 8 if they can get some consistency.
2 Go to commentsRodda will be a walk up starter at lock. Frost if you analyse his dominance has little impact and he’s a long way from being physical enough, especially when you compare to Rodda and the work he does. He was quite poor at the World Cup in his lack of physicality. Between Rodda and Skelton we would have locks who can dominate the breakdown and in contact. Frost is maybe next but Schmidt might go for a more physical lock who does their core work better like Ryan or LSL. Swain is no chance unless there’s a load of injuries. Pollard hasn’t got the scrum ability yet to be considered. Nasser dominated him when they went toe to toe and really showed him up. Picking Skelton effects who can play 6 and 8. Ideally Valetini would play 6 as that’s his best position and Wilson at 8 but that’s not ideal for lineout success. Cale isn’t physical enough yet in contact and defence but is the best backrow lineout jumper followed by Wright, Hanigan and Swinton so unfortunately Valetini probably will start at 8 with Wright or Hanigan at 6. Wilson on the bench, he’s got too much quality not to be in the squad. Paisami is leading the way at 12 but Hamish Stewart is playing extremely well also and his ball carrying has improved significantly. Beale is also another option based on the weekend. Beale is class but he’s also the best communicator of any Australian backline player and that can’t be underestimated, he’ll be in the mix.
8 Go to commentsWhy do people keep on picking Ardie at 7 when he's a ball in hand 8? A modern 7 is the lead tackler and ruck clearer which isn't his strength.
19 Go to commentsSly dig there at Ireland’s propensity to back a non-Irish coach. Must really want it. I’m not sure I like ROG very much. Comes off as unpleasant. But he’d gain my respect if he took a number 7 ranked team and turned them into WC winners. Not even back-to-back. Argentina? Scotland? Or how about Wales? France would be too easy, no?
1 Go to commentsA bit of sensationalism, but surprised by the comments about SBW. I’ve always thought of him as a pretty authentic person. There is nothing worse than working with a colleague you’ve seen straight through.
12 Go to comments100% agree with your comment about Touch. I’ve been playing it competitively since Covid. It’s on a Wednesday night after work. It means the weekend is free for time with my family.
2 Go to commentsRodda back is massively important for the Wallabies. Kaitu at hooker important too coz he was very good a few years ago.
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