The All Blacks’ Grand Slam dream remains alive after an incident-filled 26-13 victory over Ireland in Chicago this morning which featured one of the best comebacks of the Scott Robertson era.
The All Blacks had to cope with plenty of adversity in the first half, and a 10-7 halftime deficit which grew to a 13-7 lead for Ireland, but they took control in the second half and finished well over the top of their big rivals.
Robertson’s men scored four tries to Ireland’s one, and, significantly, three of those were scored in the final quarter.
The All Blacks have not been good finishers over the past two years but they had far too much firepower in the last 20 minutes for a visibly tiring Irish team who have not played together since March.
Side overcomes faltering start to defeat Ireland 26-13 in Chicago - Watch on TVNZ+
Robertson’s men had to cope with the early departure of skipper Scott Barrett, who left the Soldier Field pitch after only three minutes due to a gashed leg, with brother and vice-captain Jordie Barrett following him to the sideline in the first half due to a knee injury.
The absences of two such significant figures did not help the All Blacks’ cohesion in a scrappy and unconvincing first half and the fact they could not capitalise on the red card for Irish lock Tadhg Beirne would have been a concern.
Beirne was sinbinned for a high tackle on Beauden Barrett – a sanction upgraded to a red card, which appeared harsh given the circumstances. Beirne, upright in the tackle, connected with his shoulder to Barrett’s head.
Fortunately for Ireland, they had a numerical disadvantage for only 20 minutes due to World Rugby's recent law change at Test level. But they were the better team in that period and took the lead with a penalty from Jack Crowley and extended it via a try from close range from prop Tadhg Furlong.
However, the All Blacks, who needed to quickly strike back, did, with Ardie Savea scoring a try in the right corner after a break and offload from replacement midfielder Leicester Fainga’anuku.
The blockbusting Fainga’anuku found fullback Will Jordan, and, from the resulting breakdown, Ethan de Groot, Josh Lord and Simon Parker combined well to put Savea over.
Still, the All Blacks could not capitalise on their momentum, with their lineout struggling and too many handling errors putting them on the back foot.
With halfback Jamison Gibson-Park controlling things well for Ireland with his kicking game, the All Blacks could not string together enough phases to tire their opponents. The regular interventions from referee Pierre Brousset and technical difficulties with the big-screen replays did not help.
Another Crowley penalty eased Ireland out to 13-7 after 52 minutes, but, with the All Blacks beginning to assert themselves in the scrum and showing greater discipline, the tide quickly turned.
As the match ticked into the final quarter, a penalty tap from Codie Taylor near the Irish line put Tamaiti Williams over for the score which helped the All Blacks into the lead for the first time and, five minutes later, a piece of Beauden Barrett magic put Damian McKenzie into space, with Wallace Sititi backing up on the inside for a superb try.
It was a body blow for the Irish who never recovered and Cam Roigard’s try from a five metre scrum, after he dodged three defenders, sealed it.
There will be concerns about the two Barretts and their availability over the next three weeks against Scotland, England and Wales, but this was a convincing and thoroughly deserved victory for an All Blacks team who played with far more imagination than their opponents.
They showed a resilience that hasn’t always been visible this year – particularly during their defeats to Argentina and South Africa – and the way they finished the Test at a place where they sensationally lost to the Irish nine years ago will be extremely pleasing for Robertson.
Savea was increasingly dominant, with lock Fabian Holland and loose forward Peter Lakai stand outs. The bench also fulfilled their role, with Fainga'anuku hungry for work and Sititi a danger. Front rowers Williams, Pasilio Tosi and Samisoni Taukei'aho also provided impact.
“It was so stop start, we couldn’t get fatigue in the game,” Robertson said straight afterwards on the Sky broadcast. “When it came in the second half I was so pleased that the boys trusted themselves.”
All Blacks 26 (Ardie Savea, Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi, Cam Roigard tries; Beauden Barrett 3 cons)
Ireland 13 (Tadhg Furlong try; Jack Crowley 2 pens, con)
Halftime: Ireland 10-7
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