By Gerry Thornley, Irish Times
Hail the Irish tourists of 2022. The history makers.
Ireland was only the fifth country and sixth team, including the Lions, to beat the All Blacks on New Zealand soil, joining an equally select group by winning a series in New Zealand, something only the Lions, South Africa, France and Australia have ever done.
To put this stunning feat into context, arguably the pinnacle in Irish rugby history, the All Blacks have hosted roughly 62 series, and this is only the fifth time they’ve lost one, and the first since France in 1994, making it the first league win against the all-powerful All Blacks of the professional era and, possibly, the last ever. Wow.
What’s more, Johnny Sexton and his team did just that by coming back from a zero in the series with two deserved wins, and keeping their best until last, as Andy Farrell had hoped in this pulse-pounding decider.
The thousands in green came to the front of all four stands for the lap of honour. Perhaps the victory of all Irish victories wins.
By Ben Coles, Telegraph UK
lreland outclasses the All Blacks in New Zealand, a statement that would have seemed utterly fanciful in the past. The first 40 minutes may go down in the books as the best in Irish rugby history. It was a procession. But the result was not shocking, a sign of how far Ireland has come and indeed how far New Zealand has fallen.
All the talk in the run was about how New Zealand would react to a first-ever home defeat to Ireland, and they came up with a spirited try – but only after trailing 22-3 at halftime, their biggest deficit in the interval since the start of Test rugby.
That appalling first half, when New Zealand failed to catch a cold, left the All Blacks up a mountain, a feat they failed to pull off despite three attempts in the second half.
The quality increase from New Zealand in the second half of the first was without a doubt significant. But this was the day of Ireland, their series, which delivered an extremely astonishing performance full of determination and quality. Winning in New Zealand once seemed impossible. No longer. Ireland has conquered the All Blacks.
Peter O’Reilly, The Times UK
Ireland made history for the second week in a rowimproved their first win over the All Blacks here by taking the series 2-1 with a much deserved win built on an astonishingly dominant first half and then a diabolical defense as the inevitable “Black-lash” came after the break.
By scoring three times in the third quarter, the All Blacks – inspired by wearing Ardie Savea and Akira Ioane – shocked Ireland. Ultimately, though, this is a New Zealand team exposed as woefully flawed by an inspired touring team.
Peter Jackson, Irish examiner
In his player ratings, Jackson gave Irish slot Tadhg Beirne the perfect 10.
“The harder it got, the more he rose to be counted: a rare feat from a rare player who can always be found in the heat of battle, flipping All Black after All Black. It’s impossible to beat his uncanny ability to times overrated defenses on offense, be it at the disturbance or picking an All Black pass. Monumental.”
Center Robbie Henshaw got a score of nine, while Johnny Sexton and James Ryan both got a score of 8.5.
In the All Blacks ratings, Ardie Savea was the best with 7.5, while Nepo Laulala, Sevu Reece, David Havilii and Rieko Ioane got 4 each. All Blacks skipper Sam Cane got a five.
Kiwi reaction
Gregor Paul: Ireland is the legendary team that the All Blacks were
No doubt it is now the All Blacks are clearly in a rut. They can’t string together 80-minute shows and seem to spring into action only when they’re looking at something desperate on the scoreboard.
The performance in Wellington was considerably better than that in Dunedin, but it was still not at the level it should be, and the debate cannot be centered on whether they are bad or really bad.
The thing to keep in mind is that the All Blacks lost and that’s now four of the last five tests – which is categorically a red flag.
Ireland has played with the speed, vision and daring that the All Blacks used to have and now want, but they simply don’t have all the nuts and pieces to get it right.
They go home deserved winners – the dominant partners in the relationship now and hopefully some of what they brought with them will rub off on the All Blacks.
Liam Napier: The All Blacks’ crossroads have spiraled downward
Before the pitchforks and effigies emerge from the angry mob demanding coaching heads, it’s the height of ignorance not to first recognize Andy Farrell’s intelligent, skilled, world-class Irish team who expertly disassembled the All Blacks the past two weeks.
The tourists fully deserve the recognition and acclaim that comes their way. At the end of their long season, this was a brutal five-game tour. Ireland, on the other hand, emerged grinning from ear to ear. And they certainly celebrate in style.
For the All Blacks, however, the numbers don’t lie. They are in fact grim. Unwanted records are piling up. There were also no tickets for the All Blacks this week.
This is the first time in 24 years that the All Blacks have lost consecutive home tests – John Hart’s squad in 1998 is the last team to go through such a series, and the first time since 1994 that they have lost a home series.
Four wins from their past nine tests strongly suggest that something is broken within this All Blacks team. The empire is crumbling. Something has to change.
The wolves are at the door for Ian Foster, who now has a 16 out of 24 record, and his coaching team.
Player ratings of Andrew Alderson
Not much to love about the All Blacks other than an 8 for Ardie Savea. About Cane he wrote:
Steady performance, but pressure on his leadership is mounting in the run-up to next year’s World Cup. The shock replacement in the crucial stages added to his woes.
For Ireland, Beirne led the way with a 9.
“Brilliant wrestling at the breakdown, including getting a penalty 57th minute when Akira Ioane was caught in a ruck. An important turnover in the 73rd minute too.”