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Five talking points from Ireland vs All Blacks

Roar Guru
19th November, 2016
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The All Blacks are ready and waiting. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Roar Guru
19th November, 2016
306
5959 Reads

New Zealand has prevailed over Ireland this morning in a tense and brutal encounter in Dublin by 21 points to 9 from Aviva Stadium.

The match was played at an intense pace and was certainly not a place for the faint of heart as the defence and ruck work from both sides was committed and ferocious.

Here are my five talking points from the match.

All the wash-up from France vs Wallabies:
» Match report: Wallabies outlast France
» Diggercane’s talking points
» Brent Ford’s talking points
» What changes should the Wallabies make for Ireland?
» Vote on our DIY player ratings
» Re-live the match with our live blog
» WATCH the highlights from the match

All Black defence
The All Blacks threw themselves into everything, seemingly determined not to allow the Irish to cross their line and ultimately succeeded.

Beauden Barrett is often complimented for his play with ball in hand but his defence last night was outstanding, two early tackles in the opening stages on the impressive Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip helping stem a rampant Irish side inside the All Blacks 22.

There can be no question how much the All Blacks rely on their second row of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock, not only at set piece but there overall work around the field is an important cog in the All Black machine.

All Black discipline
Simply put, it was appalling, failing to adapt to Jaco Peypers’ expectations and conceding two yellow cards, making the All Black defensive effort even more astonishing.

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It was possibly also fortunate the Irish suffered a few injuries, most notably Jonny Sexton robbing the Irish of any cohesion on attack. Certainly an area the coaching staff will want to address.

The breakdown
This is an area of concern for the All Blacks, considering the Irish have been dominant in this area across two matches now.

When one thinks ahead to the Lions series next season, it is not difficult to see the Lions dominating here.

It is simple enough to suggest they need more numbers but some thought needs to be applied in New Zealands approach to this area.

Sean O’Brien
How good is this bloke? Barrett was the official man of the match but it would not have been controversial to see it awarded to the Irish openside.

It is difficult to not see him as the Lions’ seven next season and as an All Black fan I am happy he was not involved in Chicago!

Superb all round player and at the risk of a touch of hyperbole, arguably the best openside in the world at present.

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Aaron Smith vs TJP
There is no question that Aaron Smith is a high quality player at his best but he has not been close to his best form in recent outings, his kicking game in particular below his usual standard of accuracy.

It is of course difficult to compare a starting role versus bench impact but I do not think it unfair that TJ Perenara deserves to start next week and looks in better form currently and arguably a better option considering the All Blacks current strategies and the likely areas opposition will attempt to exploit New Zealand with his more robust game a potential advantage.

In the end, a fantastic Test match which lived up to the expectations built up from the Chicago match two weeks prior and a shame we cannot have a third to look forward too!

A quick note also around the Irish silence for the goalkickers, wonderful to see, or rather, hear, perhaps not hear? Either way, something I would dearly love to see implemented down south here.

These are my talking points from the match, what do you think Roarers?

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