Ireland lost their autumn opener to the All Blacks on a disappointing evening.
Ireland’s 19-game winning streak at the Aviva Stadium came to a withering end as an error-riddled and indisciplined performance was punished by New Zealand.
The All Blacks won 23-13 in Dublin thanks to six Damian McKenzie penalties and a late Will Jordan try, their first win in the Irish capital since 2016.
Friday’s clash, their first since the blockbuster Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in Paris 13 months ago, proved to be a much more prosaic affair, dominated by knock-ons and slow scrum setups.
McKenzie kicked 18 points on the evening, while fullback Jordan scored the All Blacks’ only try as Ireland lost at home for the first time since 2021 and only their second under Andy Farrell.
Ireland took a 13-9 lead early in the second half thanks to a Josh van der Flyer try and a Jack Crowley shot, but it was a disappointingly poor night for Farrell, who prepares to travel away from Ireland at the end of the month. The British and Irish Lions are scheduled to tour Australia next summer.
Ireland – Attempt: Van der Flier (43). Cons: Crowley (44). Penn: Crowley (8, 40).
New Zealand – Attempt: Jordan (69). Penn: McKenzie (10, 29, 38, 49, 62, 65).
Grading order: 3-0, 3-3, 3-6. 3-9, 6-9, 13-9, 13-12, 13-15, 13-18, 13-23.
How the All Blacks thrilled Ireland
Will Jordan ensure New Zealand victory with a late try?
In front of a packed Lansdowne Road under the lights, Ireland took the lead after eight minutes through a Crowley penalty after Jordie Barrett interfered with Mack Hansen under a huge Jamison Gibson-Park box kick down the center of the pitch.
The All Blacks equalized within three minutes. After scrumhalf Cortez Ratima made the most of his luck by advancing for a line break after fumbling his pass, McKenzie kicked a simple penalty when Finlay Bealham was penalized. Ronan Kelleher was lying on his side when he attempted to poach.
Finlay Bealham started as tighthead prop for Ireland after Tadhg Furlong was ruled out with a hamstring injury. Mack Hansen made his first international appearance in 2024 with number 8 Caelan Doris taking over the captaincy.
New Zealand made two forced changes to the team that finished ahead of England. Damian McKenzie and Asafe Aumua replaced Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor, who were ruled out due to concussion.
New Zealand then piled on the pressure in the Irish half, but the home side’s defense proved strong to keep the visitors at bay. Gibson-Park made a superb tackle on McKenzie amid strong defence, forcing a loss and turnover.
However, Gibson-Park was flagged for offside but McKenzie conceded a corner for his best Test chance so far. The All Blacks were unsuccessful due to a crooked lineout throw from Asafo Aumua.
McKenzie added the next point just before the half hour mark when a controversial scrum turnover allowed a shaky Ireland defense to concede a penalty close to their own post.
Damian McKenzie had 18 points and kicked six penalties.
Ireland soon missed their clearest chance at the New Zealand 22 when Kelleher inadvertently kicked the ball forward after a Bundee Aki carry and was released in a ruck, with New Zealand making it 9-3 at the other end when James Ryan was penalized for a miss. . roll.
Just before half-time, a superb Aki carry and offload allowed Garry Ringrose to hit Jordie Barrett’s head high, and he looked yellow and was lucky to avoid a red.
In the dying minutes of the first half, Crowley kicked his second penalty to end a sloppy, scrum-dominated 40 minutes up 9-6.
Josh van der Flier gave Ireland the lead with a cross early in the second half, but failed to score again.
All Blacks wing Mark Tele’a had a penalty awarded for interference on the restart, but Ireland failed to make their chances count in the first instance as the visitors fought back in possession after Crowley had kicked a corner.
But the response from Ireland was fantastic. Because he forced Sam Cane to cross his try line and clear a five-metre scrum. From the next attack, Van der Flier headed to the ground on the line for the opening try in the 44th minute.
Crowley converted brilliantly for a 13-9 advantage and Ireland were all but over for their second try shortly after a tremendous Gibson-Park tackle forced a turnover. New Zealand survived the onslaught when James Lowe was penalized for a neck roll.
Bundee Aki has been a bright spark for Ireland but has not been as threatening as he once was.
Hooker Aumua forced an All Blacks breakdown penalty that momentarily changed the momentum and McKenzie showed great composure to slot home a long-range effort after the ball came off the tee.
The strike reduced Ireland’s lead to one point and Barrett soon returned from sin-binning, with New Zealand still firmly in the contest.
McKenzie missed a chance to regain the lead when he hit the post with a central penalty kick in the 57th minute, but New Zealand went ahead just past the hour mark after a harsh scrum decision against Ireland. Replacement props to Tom O’Toole.
New Zealand increased their lead to five points after poor play from replacement lock Iain Henderson resulted in a failed release from the ruck through McKenzie’s boot. And the lead was soon an insurmountable 10 points when Jordan dived into the corner following a quick All Blacks attacking play.
Ireland’s replacement flyhalf Ciaran Frawley casually knocked home a second high ball to see Ireland into added time, but Lowe gave them hope with a stunning 50-22 from just outside their own 22.
But Ardie Savea killed those hopes with a crucial penalty kick in the 22nd with six minutes to play. The All Blacks have recorded impressive back-to-back wins over England and Ireland in Europe.
Analysis: Alarm bells ringing after island display goes blurry
James Rowe looks dejected after the final whistle
Tony Teich of Sky Sports:
This was a different world from the Ireland we had seen before.
Control, precision, good decision-making, ruthlessness – all were lacking as the desire to avenge last year’s World Cup quarter-final loss to New Zealand was quickly forgotten.
Concerns about set pieces were quickly recognized as Ireland struggled at both scrums and lineouts, while a lack of kicking game and profound discipline proved costly on a soggy Dublin night. Issues including numerous handling errors, poor passing and an inability to compete with New Zealand in the air should have raised alarm bells for Farrell and his coaching staff.
But with some great last-gasp defence, New Zealand could have been out of sight by half-time. Barrett’s new strike gave Ireland some hope and they went forward through Van der Flier’s try after the restart but again failed to cause trouble on the scoreboard as the attack continued to malfunction.
A first home defeat since 2021 was not the way the IRFU wanted to start their 150th anniversary celebrations. It’s back to plan ahead of Friday’s dangerous visit to Argentina.
Doris is frustrated with poor discipline.
Ireland captain Karen Doris said virgin one:
“That’s not us. That’s not the best performance we can do. Part of that is certainly down to quality in New Zealand.
“I thought we were reactive throughout. They had a lot more shots than us. That was the message at halftime. We felt he had taken a lot out of them and now it was our turn to get the momentum going. We had a lot more shots than we had. We tried to do that early on, but our discipline was definitely a big factor.
“Was rust the cause? Maybe, but that’s no excuse for us.”
Farrell: Irish players were miserable
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said virgin one:
“The players are upset and I’m upset. They prepared well and were excited about the game. We held ourselves back at times with too many consecutive mistakes.
“Put simply, the best team won.”
What’s next?
Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series takes place against Argentina at the Allianz Stadium on Friday 15 November (8.10pm kick-off), while New Zealand take on France at the Stade de France on 16 November (8.10pm).
