All Blacks freeze out plucky Irish
Sat, 07 Jun 2008 11:42
Intimidating: The All Black haka
New Zealand got the international rugby season underway with a solid 21-11 victory over Ireland in atrocious conditions at a freezing Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
The Kiwis took some time to get going, but eventually hit their stride to score two magnificent tries through wing Sitiveni Sivivatu and centre Ma'a Nonu to consign the visiting Irish to defeat
There is no doubt that both the New Zealand and the Irish players are used to playing in wet, cold weather. Both countries have rainy, freezing winters. But this game was different. It was bitterly cold as the rain pelted down throughout most of the match. And when the showers abated, it got even colder.
The Kiwis did their customary haka before the match, as is the tradition. It was still as much of a spectacle as it always has. The rain dripping off the New Zealand players made them look even more fierce.
The Irish have never beaten the All Blacks in a Test match, and by the evidence of the opening stages of the match, Ireland definitely had the bit between their teeth.
Ireland were very keen to dominate the opening phases, and kicked long from a quick penalty. New Zealand dallied in clearing the ball, and Ireland affected the charge down.
The loose ball bounced around invitingly in the All Black goal area, before touching the corner flag post just before wing Tommy Bowe could dive on it for an Irish try, and New Zealand escaped.
Of course the ruling would have been different under the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs), but these opening Tests are played under the old laws as per IRB instructions.
If anything, it was a warning that the Irish had come to play.
The rule changes again caught out the Kiwis, when referee Chris White spotted an All Black hand in the ruck. Ireland legend Ronan O'Gara took aim and opened the scoring. 3-0 to Ireland after eight minutes.
Then New Zealand sprung into typical action as they broke in midfield through centre Conrad Smith. It seemed as if the Irish were caught short on the outside, and Smith sliced through before executing a perfect pass out to flying wing Sitiveni Sivivatu, who used the greasy conditions to slide over the try-line from 4 metres out.
It was a lovely try, scored in typical New Zealand fashion. Carter missed the conversion from the touchline, but the All Blacks were ahead 5-3 after 15 minutes.
But back came the plucky Irish. The All Blacks put themselves under pressure by allowing O'Gara's restart to bounce. More often than not this proves to be a mistake, and it was. Ireland got hold of the ball, and drove at the NZ line. Eventually Paddy Wallace managed to force his way over for Ireland. The scoreboard read 8-5 to Ireland after 20 minutes.
The All Blacks then changed tack and decided to work the ball up with their pack.
It worked, and the Irish seemed to have trouble stemming the increasing Black tide. That resulted in a penalty for the Kiwis, and Dan Carter did the honours to level the scores again.
Kiwi prop John Afoa suffered a knee injury, and had to go off for Hurricanes front row forward John Schwalger.
It didn't seem to weaken the Kiwi scrum, where they dominated the Irish.
Half-time came round with the score at 8-8.
The weather deteriorated even more in the second half, and it dictated the game pattern.
New Zealand elected to keep it close and tight, and they were picking and driving with great success, as props Schwalger and Tialata burst with great effect.
On 50 minutes that driving play set New Zealand up perfectly. Dan Carter stabbed the grubber kick through, but the greasy surface just saved the Irish as the ball slithered to touch in goal, narrowly evading the diving Sivivatu and Conrad Smith.
The scores were still level as the rain kept pouring down.
It was clear that this was going to be a battle of determination more than skill, with the conditions deteriorating by the minute.
It really was getting very slippery and slithery, and the wings were hardly ever seen in action.
New Zealand netted a penalty with Irish forwards diving into the ruck. Dan Carter slotted it for a 14-11 lead with 20 minutes to go. Every score would now be crucial.
Ireland coach Michael Bradley made a switch to try and stem the flow of penalties that his team were conceding. He took off Marcus Horan and sent on Tony Buckley to try and address the discipline.
But not even a minute later, the All Blacks scored again.
The Irish were ineffective in dealing with the rampaging Kiwi forwards, who were making massive yardage on the drive. Dan Carter used that to good advantaged and raced through a gap into space. He was eventually hauled down, but New Zealand were very much on the front foot now.
The ball went wide, and Ma'a Nonu did his usual trick - busting through a tackle to sprint upfield. The Irish cover defence came round to tackle the centre, but his momentum helped him to slide over the try-line for another five points.
The TMO confirmed it, and Dan Carter slotted the easy conversion to put some space between the home side and Ireland. 21-11 with 16 minutes to go.
And the weather got even worse. It was freezing down there on the field. Even after 70 minutes of rugby, the players were still doing exercises just to keep warm while the ball wasn't in play.
Ireland seemed to have no clues about how to get back in the game. They started getting sloppy, and their game plan was non-existent. When they did get the ball, they seemed hesitant in running it up to the New Zealand defence, and kicked aimlessly.
New Zealand were just trying to make sure they keep the ball tight with their forwards, as the match lost momentum. Ireland players were starting to engage in some clock-watching.
But the Irish did give it one more go. Their forwards tried to emulate the penetrative pick-and-go move that served the hosts so well all night, but it was getting them nowhere. It only culminated in another poor kick, which gave possession back to the All Blacks with two minutes to go.
New cap Adam Thomson gave away a penalty though, which gave Ireland one last chance to get a consolation score. The visitors drove it up after a good scrum, but once again the backs could not break the tackle.
The hooter sounded, and referee Chris White blew for full-time. The All Blacks had kept their perfect record intact against Ireland.
The post-match interviews showed just how cold it was, as Brian O'Driscoll visibly shivered as he gave his interview.
Man of the match: Richie McCaw had a storming game and did great work in the tackle and rucks. But Dan Carter dominated the game for the All Blacks, and his superior goal and tactical kicking put the All Blacks in the clear.
Moment of the match: Conrad Smith's great break and pass which set-up Sivivatu's try was a great moment of class rugby by the Hurricanes's centre.
Villian of the match: The insane freezing weather reduced the second half into a scrappy affair.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Sivivatu, Nonu
Pens: Carter 3
Con: Carter
For Ireland:
Try: Wallace
Pens: O'Gara 2
Teams:
All Blacks: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Anthony Tuitavake, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Rodney So'oialo, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 John Afoa, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Schwalger, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Leon MacDonald.
Ireland: 15 Robert Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Geordan Murphy, 22 Girvan Dempsey.
Date: Saturday, June 7
Venue: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 19.35 (07.35 GMT)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, with a possibility of showers and windy. Low 6°C, high 14°C
Referee: Chris White (England)
Touch judges: Nigel Owens
(Wales), Matt Goddard (Australia)
TMO: Christophe Berdos (France)
