ANALYSIS: Unusual week, unreal reaction. The All Blacks were challenged on several fronts for this test, but their response on Saturday night at Eden Park was pure class. Not so much a crisis averted, but thrown into the ether.
This was by no means a normal test build, with the New Zealanders losing four coaches at various stages of the week, including their two main shot-callers in Ian Foster and John Plumtree.
As a result, the players stepped up their roles, turned up the volume and took the lead in the preparations. It must be said that the result was telling on the road to a remarkable 42-19 victory in a sold-out, cheering Eden Park.
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Ardie Savea of the All Blacks scores a try.
Honestly, if this is what happens when the players take the lead, then there’s something to be said for it becoming a norm. Types.
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It took the All Blacks fifteen minutes to establish themselves, and things looked a little foreboding in those early stages as the Irish rolled into the early lead.
But then the switch was turned. The black defense stood up and in some faces. The big men started winning the clashes and in a flash the pace at which the All Blacks love to play was with them.
The New Zealanders made four attempts in the second quarter to roll to a 28-5 lead at halftime that effectively put the game on ice.
It was also impressive, as the All Blacks seized control of a match that threatened to drift away from them early on.
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Brodie Retallick and the All Blacks forward took on the challenge in the opening test against Ireland at Eden Park.
And if there was one period of play that might have included the challenge the home team had to face in this game, it was leading up to Quinn Tupaea’s 36th minute try that might have just broken the back of the visiting effort.
Remember, about seven months ago, when Ireland defeated the All Blacks in Dublin for their third win in the last five, not only had they won the physical battle, they had it in their hands. As a result, the New Zealanders barely fired a shot on an afternoon that was almost entirely on the back foot.
Not this time. It took a while, but the All Blacks’ forwards came into play in this campaign opener, and in the process they restored a balance that had worried many leaving this team when they faced back-to-back tests in the North last November. let fall.
So what happened before Tupaea’s key score?
The All Blacks attackers rolled up their sleeves and got to work, that’s how it happened.
There are not many teams in the world as organized and efficient as the Irish. It’s what they do. They keep the pill. They build up pressure. They grind you into submission.
But the All Blacks won two quick conversions in succession via counter-rucks and from the second onward, the brilliant Beauden Barrett made the visitors pay with a small caterpillar that Tupaea rushed to for the 21-5 advantage.
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Big blindside flanker Scott Barrett battles hard for the All Blacks against Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday night.
A back finished it off, but as so often in the second quarter, it was started by the New Zealand attackers.
The Irish stayed with it. These guys are not mugs. They are in fact one of the best teams in the world and they played like it did in the second half, reacting with two tries and maybe three or four more but for some desperate stuff on an impressive defensive night by Foster’s men.
The All Blacks made 190 tackles that night and they had to. That’s part of it when you play a side as good as these Irishmen. They were also muscular. They also had their brilliant quarter to accumulate points quickly.
All in all, it was an excellent first attempt from a side that doesn’t always start on the hoof.
Not many All Blacks failed to deliver a heartwarming night. Rieko Ioane may not be a renowned defender, but twice in quick succession in the second half his bravery and skill negated Ireland attempts which seemed certain; Quinn Tupaea was nothing short of outstanding at number 12 (and will be hard to fire); Beauden Barrett orchestrated the show beautifully; and up front two tries, Ardie Savea was fast and furious, Sam Cane physical, Scott Barrett effective at number 6 and Sam Whitelock resilient as he hit the full 80 in his 133rd test.
The home scrum was also dominant and it was an important part of the base. A big tick for Ofa Tuungafasi and his mates who very much won the battle of the heavy lifters.
In Dublin they had gotten sand in their faces. In Eden Park, as their 28-year undefeated streak continued, the All Blacks attackers walked away with smiles on their dials.