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Ireland have recorded a historic first-ever victory over New Zealand, staggering the heavily favoured All Blacks by 40 points to 29 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
It was a fantastic performance from the Irish, permeated by an attacking, resilient and disciplined display to hold off a fast-finishing All Black side and record this enormous historic moment in Irish Rugby history.
» 111 years in the making, Ireland beat the All Blacks
» Re-live all the action with our live blog
Some talking points from the match:
Respect the lineout
I am a conservative kind of bloke and while I enjoy fast, open rugby I am a believer in the set piece and in particular the lineout. The All Blacks chose a run on side that looked to ignore this potential calamity and so it proved in a first half that was one of the poorest lineout displays I can remember.
I am not a big fan of the whole loosie/lock combo thing, even more so at the highest level. Pick a lineout forward, always.
Discipline
Boy, didn’t the All Blacks let themselves down in this regard. It’s not unfair to suggest the rot started with Joe Moody’s yellow card and a number of careless concessions, high tackles and taking the man in the air helped dig the All Blacks into a hole they could not climb out of this time. For a team which has been in fine form this season it was a surprising lack of focus in this area.
Learnings
The Irish learned from the last match up where after establishing a big lead, they chose to shut up shop and try and hold on, famously scoring 0 points in the second half as the All Blacks came back from the dead to snatch it in the 83rd minute.
No such repeat today, as the Irish continued to attack, scoring two well-taken tries in the second half and none more so than the 76th minute score from a five-metre scrum, instigated by a brilliant kick and chase from Conor Murray.
The All Blacks repeated their sluggish start from their last match against Ireland and this time paid the price as the Irish pulled away to a big first-half lead.
Halfbacks
While many have sung the praise for Aaron Smith in recent times, suggesting he is the best player in the world, he is coming under serious heat from TJ Perenara for his starting spot and I would suggest on current form, perhaps he has been usurped.
After obvious recent events and a break from the game, perhaps gameplay is what he needs but for the second time he has been flustered this season and I would suggest several teams will attack the All Blacks through the middle and around the fringes and Perenara looks a better starting selection at present.
On another note, how good was Conor Murray? Easily my player of the match. If we are talking best players in the world, surely he must be considered and it would be a huge surprise to not see him as the Lions’ halfback next year.
Record-breakers
Sport, it really is a wonderful thing. A few weeks ago this All Blacks squad romped to their 18th straight victory, securing a special piece of history for the side. The very next game, the same squad become the first in All Black side to lose a test to Ireland. A whole lot of bitter sweet and history made in the space of a fortnight!
All in all, a fabulous victory for Ireland and an All Black side left to rue a poor performance. Fortunately we do not have to wait long for a rematch, with the All Blacks traveling to Dublin in a fortnight for a game I am already anticipating.
There are some talking points to ponder from this match, what were yours, Roarers?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.