The incredible defensive stat that saw the All Blacks beat Ireland

It might be a cliché but defence really does win championships, or in the All Blacks’ case it was the difference between staying alive at the Rugby World Cup and going home far too soon.

With time up on the clock at Stade de France on Saturday evening, Ireland threw 37 phases of attack at the All Blacks as they fought desperately for what would’ve been the match-winning score. But there would be no fairytale ending for the Irish and captain Johnny Sexton.

Much to the delight of the All Blacks fans in attendance at the Parisian venue, veteran lock Sam Whitelock won a penalty at the breakdown. The All Blacks held on for a tense 28-24 win.

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But in the wake of the victory – as New Zealanders continue to pinch themselves after the dream-like triumph – defensive coach Scott McLeod has revealed a staggering defensive stat that ultimately proved the difference against the world’s top-ranked side.

“We had to make 276 tackles last night and 100 of those were in the last quarter, and particularly in that last 37 phases. You know, the most we’ve had to make in this tournament, or attempt to make was 137 against Italy,” McLeod told reporters on Sunday.

“So, there’s a huge amount of care and a huge amount of ticker I guess, Kiwi ticker in you like, that we wanted to get the job done. I am really proud of our execution in that zone but also our decision-making.

“The ball wasn’t there to take a number of times and we had to wait for the moment and then execute really well. You know, Sam Whitelock put himself in the position twice to do that and so did Ardie [Savea] and we finally got it.

Points Flow Chart

New Zealand win +4

Time in lead

0

Mins in lead

77

0%

% Of Game In Lead

93%

72%

Possession Last 10 min

28%

0

Points Last 10 min

0

“We finally got it after that 37th phase and the boys are really happy with that.”

Rugby fans from a small country at the bottom of the world let out a collective sigh of relief as the All Blacks lived to fight another day at the Rugby World Cup, and this relief quickly turned into euphoric jubilation.

New Zealand had sailed through uncharted waters in the leadup to the Test as they carried the underdogs tag into a quarter-final for the first time ever. Ireland were deserving of the ‘favourites’ moniker but it was always going to be close.

The All Blacks took the lead through a Richie Mo’unga penalty goal inside the opening 10 minutes, and a try to wing Leicester Fainga’anuku shortly after saw the New Zealanders extend their lead.

Ireland fought valiantly, and had a genuine chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at death, but after 276 tackles the All Blacks certainly deserved the win and all the plaudits that come their way.

The All Blacks will play Argentina at the very same venue next week. New Zealand defeated Los Pumas 41-12 in Medoza in July but are expecting a confident team to come out firing in a southern hemisphere instalment of knockout rugby.

“The way they finished the game yesterday, they got off to a rough start, but the way they finished would have given them a huge amount of confidence to overcome Wales,” McLeod added.

“I guess a bit of a mantra that we’ve been talking about is who is the best team on the day.”