Will Jordan try helps New Zealand pull away as Ireland’s home run fizzles out

By kick-off here at a packed Lansdowne Road a steady flow of traffic had done a drive-by of the All Blacks social media post from earlier in the day. It featured footage of the final two minutes from the game 11 years ago between these teams, on this pitch, where New Zealand raised themselves from the dead: another harrowing event for the home team and their supporters; another flag planted on New Zealand’s hill of invincibility.

The final two minutes here told a different story: no need to overhaul a deficit; no need to nail touchline conversion; no need to sweat any bullets. With 11 minutes left they were two scores clear against a side trying hard but achieving very little.

What started out in Dublin as a grey, still day had changed by kick-off into a wet night where dealing with ball on the ground was going to be a challenge. The reason most of the ball was on the ground in the first place was because catching under pressure was also a climb.

A greasy pill invariably means more set scrums which can suck the life out of any game. If the scrum is generally either a loaded weapon you want to fire at will or a minefield you want to avoid then initially it was neither: just a waste of valuable time.

The aggregate was the guts of 20 minutes expended on set and reset and more stoppages for obstruction before an opening statement: sustained pressure from New Zealand’s phase game – aggressive and accurate and high tempo – which forced the home team to hang on a bit, but not break. In the course of it Mark Tele’a was denied an opportunity out wide – remarkable in itself – and Damian McKenzie too was hauled down on a promising run from broken play.

At that point Jack Crowley and McKenzie had swapped penalties, and when the latter nudged one to touch in search of more than three points it ended in a crooked throw. On his next chance he pointed at the posts and took three, for a 6-3 lead on 30 minutes.

It wasn’t a lot to show for their dominance, which was fair enough – it wasn’t pronounced – but Ireland’s lineout was like an internet connection likely to drop. It was the gift that gave McKenzie a third penalty, on 38 minutes.

Before he could reflect on that little bit of daylight Bundee Aki made a clean burst which ended with a high shot from Jordie Barrett on his soon-to-be centre partner at Leinster, Garry Ringrose. Crowley pulled back three points and Ireland ran off to the tunnel grateful to be so close.

With Barrett in the bin the clock was counting for Ireland as well as the offender. On 43 minutes they had something to show for it when Sam Cane had been forced into conceding a five-metre scrum, and around the corner rugby saw Josh van der Flier score out wide. Crowley made it 13-9. It the half-time resolution had been to be more direct then it looked like working and they went very close on the next play off the restart.

The complexion of the game surely would have changed dramatically had that worked out but quickly New Zealand settled back into phase play that left Ireland losing most of the collisions but hanging tough enough not to concede any linebreaks.

You wondered why McKenzie didn’t look to extend those phases instead of punting for position, for the last thing Ireland wanted was him, or Will Jordan running at them. Especially given the energy the home team spent on keeping their defensive line intact. And when they had the ball Ireland couldn’t combine tempo with ball retention. You could sense the Kiwis confidence lifting with every spillage.

They were helped by a poor call against Finlay Bealham at a scrum, which allowed McKenzie to regain the lead, and on 65 minutes he tacked on another for 18-13. By the time that was sinking in, the home side were coughing up another piece of possession.

With the game easing around the corner into the final straight the Kiwis finally did as expected, and held the ball long enough to get over the line. Jordan was under no pressure to touch down with 10 minutes left and the home looking stuck for both ideas and technique.

For New Zealand it gives huge momentum now to the rest of the tour, and to the journey under their next coaching crew. They were favourites for a silver medal here but won so well Ireland looked lost. The home team’s run of 19 Tests didn’t just end, but fell into a hole in the road. They were beaten out the gate on all metrics, getting on the wrong side of referee Nic White the harder they tried to get on terms.

It changes the look of what comes next in this Autumn Series which Ireland had hoped to use as a launching pad for the Six Nations. Houston, we have a problem.