One cannot discuss the All Blacks’ success in recent years without mentioning this man, Richie McCaw. Since making his debut against Ireland in Dublin in November 2001, he has played in 124 Test matches – winning 110, drawing 1, and losing just 13. He has captained the All Blacks on an incredible 87 occasions, winning 77 of those games. He has been named IRB Player of the Year three times (2006, 2009, and 2010) and been shortlisted another five times (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2012). Most importantly, he led New Zealand to the 2011 World Cup on home soil, heroically playing through a stress fracture in his foot. He is, quite simply, the player of his generation, and one of the all-time greats.
Well, the Irish defeat against New Zealand is all the rugby world is talking about today. “Heartbreaking” is the word being used in both the Irish and the New Zealand press. Ireland played like the best team in the world in the first half, racing out to a 19-0 lead after just 17 minutes. The All Blacks responded, but Ireland led at halftime 22-7. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, Ireland held firm, and the All Blacks managed just a single penalty to reduce the deficit to 22-10. But in the 64th minute, Ben Franks went over for a try, Aaron Cruden converted, and the stage was set for an unbearably tense final 15 minutes with Ireland ahead just 22-17. The Dublin crowd roared their men on, but the Irish looked out on their feet – such was the incredibly intensity of their effort over the first hour.
With five minutes to play, Johnny Sexton missed a kickable penalty that would have made it a two-score game. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw identified the kick as a key turning point in the match, saying: “The reality is, if that had gone over, it was probably game over. But when that missed, you could see a sense of lift in the boys – there was still a chance – and perhaps from the Irish boys, you could see that they were trying to eat up as much time, and sometimes when that happens, an opportunity will come.” The Irish had possession and bravely tried to see the game out, but an opportunity did come for New Zealand when Ireland were penalized for going off their feet at a ruck just before 80 minutes were up. Although the All Blacks were 60 meters from the tryline when Aaron Smith took the quick tap, they demonstrated the self-belief epitomized by McCaw and Ryan Crotty went over for the score. That made it 22-all, with the conversion to come. There was then insult added to injury, as Cruden missed at his first attempt, only to be allowed to retake it when the Irish were judged to have begun their charge prematurely. Cruden made no mistake with the second attempt, and Ireland have still never beaten New Zealand.
It really was incredibly hard to watch, even as a neutral – the only comparison I can recall is watching France beat Wales 9-8 in the 2011 World Cup Semifinal, when Wales played with only 14 men for an hour after their captain Sam Warburton had been sent off. It will be interesting to see how Ireland responds to this. They should believe that they are real contenders for the Six Nations – such was the quality of their performance – but that is easier said than done. This defeat will haunt them.
The whole Irish squad deserves the highest praise, but special mention must go to Sean O’Brien, who was an absolute force of nature. He carried strongly, made a real nuisance of himself at the breakdown, and made 16 tackles, missing none. Condolences to hooker Rory Best, who broke his arm and looks like he will miss the beginning of the Six Nations. Congratulations to the All Blacks on their incredible achievement of going undefeated for an entire year. I am already looking forward to the England tour of New Zealand next summer.
Other results
Wales 17-7 Tonga – a pretty dreadful game. James Hook was good at flyhalf though – will Warren Gatland consider playing him there in the Six Nations?
Italy 14-19 Argentina – it was raining heavily in Rome. There were a lot of scrums. That’s about it.
Scotland 15-21 Australia – same old story for the Scots, they battled hard but just weren’t good enough. Australian fullback Israel Folau continues to amaze. Incredible to think that this is still his first year playing the 15-man code, after stints in rugby league and Aussie rules.
France 10-19 South Africa – not as good a match as I had hoped, as the French didn’t really turn up. They conceded a converted try almost immediately, and although the rest of the match was hard-fought, they never overcame that deficit.
Sunday November 24, 9 AM Eastern – Lansdowne Road (the Aviva, if we must call it that), Dublin
The New Zealand All Blacks are going after a pretty special achievement on Sunday – a win over Ireland would make them the first international team to go through an entire calendar year undefeated. The All Blacks are, as always, loaded with talent. They are captained by openside Richie McCaw, one of the best players of his generation. The pack also features Sam Whitelock, the best lock in the world, and Kieran Read, the best number 8 in the world. In the backs they are without flyhalf Dan Carter, who picked up an injury while winning his 100th cap against England last weekend, but Carter’s boots are ably filled by Aaron Cruden. Powerful and skillful inside center Ma’a Nonu is back to his best, while outside center Ben Smith remains a threat despite playing out of position (he is more comfortable at fullback or wing). Wing Julian Savea is one of the world’s best in his position, and Cory Jane and Israel Dagg combine with him to form a dangerous back three.
Ireland were comprehensively beaten last weekend by Australia, a team the All Blacks have defeated three times this year. This Irish team has a lot of quality, but they lacked urgency and did not defend the gainline strongly enough against the Aussies. Part of this may be explained by the inherent difficulties of a coaching transition. Joe Schmidt, a New Zealander, faces his biggest challenge in just his third match as Ireland coach. Outside center Brian O’Driscoll and lock (and captain) Paul O’Connell are two legends of the game, and they will have their teammates incredibly motivated for this match amidst a sea of green in Dublin. The back row of Peter O’Mahony, Sean O’Brien, and Jamie Heaslip has the potential to be very destructive. At flyhalf, Jonathan Sexton is probably the best in Europe – but there are lingering questions over his fitness. Hopefully he is close to 100% for this one, because at his best, he is masterful at controlling a game. Fullback Rob Kearney is one of the best in Europe, although he currently has competition from England’s Mike Brown.
My head says New Zealand will win comfortably, by a couple of tries. But I think Ireland are going to surprise everyone. Their pride will have been dented by the manner of the Australia defeat, and they will relish their underdog status for this match. An All Black victory is being treated as a fait accompli. Ireland has never beaten New Zealand. As Lee Corso of ESPN’s College Gameday would say: “Not so fast, my friend!” I’m backing Ireland to produce a performance reminiscent of their victory over Australia at the 2011 World Cup. Below: it is always good to revisit O’Connell’s famous “manic aggression” pregame speech. That is exactly what the Irish will need to beat New Zealand and ruin their perfect season. Ireland by 1
Stateside Rugby 