The All Blacks have put together an utterly complete performance in the second Rugby World Cup quarter-final, resulting in a resounding win over Ireland 46 points to 14.
A 22-0 halftime scoreline put New Zealand in great stead to go on with the job. Ireland were improved somewhat in the second half, but the result was never in doubt for the All Blacks, who will now have one eye on getting their hands on the Webb Ellis Cup for a remarkable third consecutive time.
Here are five talking points from the game.
All Blacks put together masterclass ahead of England showdown
The New Zealand masterclass against Ireland sets up an absolutely fascinating showdown with England in the semi-finals next week.
The English were very impressive in their quarter-final, defeating Australia 40-16. flyhalf Owen Farrell was in particularly fine touch. His upcoming battle with New Zealand counterpart Richie Mo’unga will be one for the ages.
But the All Blacks flexed their muscles too on Saturday night. They’ll be extremely tough to beat – even for a team in as good form as England.
Aaron Smith Sublime
It may seem obvious to some. But I just can’t get over how good Aaron Smith actually is. His skills, his smarts, his speed off the mark and his talk are all unbelievable – he’s truly one of the great halfbacks of all time.
Smith put in an hour of totally sublime rugby before being replaced by TJ Perenara.
He scored two solo-effort tries in the first half to single-handedly give the All Blacks the momentum after a tough opening ten minutes. He constantly put Ireland on the back foot with his kicking game, and he controlled his forwards like they were puppets on a string with his talk behind the ruck in both attack and defence.
It’s always an absolute pleasure to watch him play and marvel at his skill.
(Photo by Renee McKay/Getty Images)
Quarter-final curse continues for Ireland
It was certainly a night to forget for the Irish. They have a pretty good record against the All Blacks (relatively speaking of course – no one has a good record against the All Blacks). But that didn’t prevent the All Blacks from inflicting upon them their largest-ever World Cup defeat.
There were plenty of signs that it wasn’t Ireland’s night. Usually-reliable flyhalf Johnny Sexton missed touch on two separate occasions with penalty kicks. It was clear from early on that they were struggling to match New Zealand’s pace.
In addition, this loss marks the continuation of Ireland’s quarter-final curse. The Irish have now lost six quarter-finals since the first World Cup in 1987 and have never every qualified for a semi-final.
This will be even more disappointing this time around, given they entered the 2019 World Cup as the world number one ranked side.
Disappointing end to a great career for Rory Best
When Ireland captain and hooker Rory Best came from the field late in the game, he looked a despondent figure. Devastated by the way in which his international career was coming to an end, it was clearly not the way he wanted to go out.
But after an international career spanning 14 years and 122 caps, the 37-year-old can look past this heavy defeat and reflect on what has been a wonderful career for his beloved Ireland.
Four Six Nations Championships, two Grand Slams and four Triple Crowns is one hell of a resume. His longevity in a sport like rugby and in a position like hooker is a testament to the man’s toughness and determination. Irish rugby will no doubt be worse off for his retirement.
Barrett backyard brilliance
It briefly looked like a penalty try to Ireland would be the final scoring play of the game. That was before two of the Barrett brothers got their hands on the ball and combined like they were kids playing in the back yard.
It was a wonderful moment for the family when younger brother Jordi came onto the field late in the game, marking a rare occasion when he and his two brothers Beauden and Scott were on the field all at once.
But it was even better when Beauden received a singing Richie Mo’unga cut-out pass and spotted brother Jordi unmarked out wide. He flung the ball to Jordi, who made a bee-line for the corner and dived over to score.
It’s always a pleasure to see brothers combine on such a grand stage as the Rugby World Cup. Let’s hope there’s more to come in this tournament.
What do you think Roarers? Any talking points I missed? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to tune in to The Roar’s coverage of tonight’s quarter-finals between France and Wales as well as Japan and South Africa.
Kia Kaha
Roar Guru
Still have the shakes thinking about that game but, indeed, a prime example!
Soap Dodger
Roar Rookie
"The problem with a performance like this is that it’s inevitably followed by a tighter game. See 2015 semi, 1995 final for examples." Astute point there, Kia Kaha. Perhaps 2011 final was the ultimate example!
ShaghaiDoc
Roar Rookie
What's with the trash talk? You state an opinion. He has an opinion, a worthier one I might add, and you do a Trumpian melt down and insult him. If you don't like his response then stick to ice hockey with your Russian mates.
One Eye
Roar Rookie
Good point, it was him.
moaman
Roar Guru
Twice! Wasn't he the one who deliberately slapped the ball down whilst attempting an impossible intercept?
Machpants
Roar Guru
Yeah TV commentators wrong. Nice one Shag
Taniwha
Roar Rookie
Neutral last week you mentioned how the ''Kiwis brian trust has spent many awaken nights on how to counter Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, especially after the meeting last year when NZ played pretty well but still was the weaker side on the day.'' your personal bias against the ABs clouds your judgement. I have yet again posted below the excellent article showing how ridiculous this statement is. https://www.rugbypass.com/news/analysis-did-the-all-blacks-bottle-it-and-shadow-box-against-ireland ''I think very few predicted Ireland being this poor'' there were many predicting this result, i backed them to win by 35+. A number of ex Irish players have spoken in past 24hrs contradicting your opinion. Keith Wood believes this was the best performance by any side since 2015 RWC and no side in the world could compete when playing like they did. Recommend listening to Keith Wood and Zinzan Brooke give their opinions on the ABs performance, also Zinzan explains why he predicted this result. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PupdJ1fiM5o ''Old Bugger'' points out the obvious why the Irish put in a performance like they did. '' There’s a reason for uncharacteristic errors….it’s called “fatigue…The Irish were placed in a merciless situation from “go to wo” which was defend, defend, defend……and it never stopped. This brought on the fatigue and thereafter, even Sexton had lost his normally reliable kicking boots, to even find the touch-line.''
Lara
Guest
Sexton stated this current Irish team was right up there with other Irish teams, he has been involved in. So what happen, Schmidt said they were flat, had no excuses, didn’t’ know what happened . Over confident, don’t think so . Believed in their own media, don’t think so. The truth is the ABs like playing them , but they lost twice to the men in green. The reason they liked the Irish is simple, they are predictable .
One Eye
Roar Rookie
Rarely happens if the attacking team scores - it really should since a penalty try and yellow card would have come so why wouldn't you award the yellow if the team are still good enough to score the try?
Lara
Guest
OB , it took the ABs 20 mins on Saturday, then ....BOOM.
Dan Edward
Guest
hahahahah nice one Tman. Oz and Argie and suddenly in good form!!!! FFS!
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Thought Owens was okay Hika. He missed a few things but correctly ruled on Beauden's try. No way was Todd offside but it was cynical nonetheless. Swings and roundabouts for mine. Wouldn't have mattered whoi reffed though; the All Blacks were brilliant enough to play officiating out of the game.
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Irish 11 should still have been sent to the pine for 10.
Ralph
Roar Guru
Side entry seems very normal at this World Cup. You can also seal the breakdown with your head, be off your feet, supporting your body weight on your forearms and have an epoch to let go of your tackled man (if you bother).
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Thanks Daniel. Aaron Smith was indeed sublime. My MOTM. The speed with which he attended and distributed really pressurised the Irish line. And his sniping runs were back. And brilliant. He got buried a few times but took his opportunities, showing great vision. The next best player on the park for me was the captain. Read was everywhere and had a standout game. Incredible leg drive in tight for an old fella. A real statement to some of his critics. Thought Mo'unga and Barett steered really well off plenty of front-foot ball and were able to negate the Irish defense which started to falter after only 10 minutes. The back three were excellent in general and worked hard off the ball, especially Reece, who even managed a scintillating turnover. The All Blacks defense was brilliant, missing only one tackle in the 1st half. Importantly this pressure was mounted from the 1st minute and the pressure exerted on the Irish halves, telling. The way the All Blacks defended the line-out mauls, driving them toward the side-line, negated another strength, and the Irish looked out of options early. Set-piece, where the All Blacks were predicted by some to come undone, was solid, and the plays off it swift. In fact the recycling was some of the fastest and most accurate we have seen in some time, adding to the pressure and creating opportunities. This was better than Eden Park against the Wallabies. The All Blacks played with composure and intensity, pace and accuracy, putting in one of those rare performances of power and grace that make this game such a great spectacle. They will need to do it again though; England will be a lot harder...
Soap Dodger
Roar Rookie
I am one of those who predicted it, "Neutral". I said that the Irish were one of the two "pretenders" who would crack under the pressure in the knock-out rounds. Wales is the other one and and should have been knocked out today but the Springboks will easily dispose of them next week. Ultimately the Irish have a great con job on themselves and the rest of the world since upsetting the All Blacks twice in recent years. Consider the following comments: "It was certainly a night to forget for the Irish. They have a pretty good record against the All Blacks (relatively speaking of course – no one has a good record against the All Blacks)." That is a real slap in the face for the Springboks. At the time of writing All Blacks have played the Springboks 99 times in history and have won only 59 times (with four draws). For decades there was nothing between the two sides and often the Springboks had the upper hand. It took the All Blacks until 1996 to win a series on South African soil. In New Zealand they still say: "What was the greatest side ever to leave New Zealand?" Answer: "The 1937 Springboks". How is Ireland's record of winning two matches out of 32 (with one draw) over 114 years against the All Blacks a "pretty good record"? It is almost as bad as losing all 7 of the RWC quarter-finals they have played since 1987 (Note: in 2007 they did not even get out of their pool). Unfortunately the All Blacks did not buy all the talk about how great Irish rugby is. They saw it as nothing more a recently created myth, waiting to be smashed. Now it has been smashed. The All Blacks will, however, face a real opponent next week in England - plainly the only team capable of stopping the Springboks and the All Blacks in this competition. That will be a contest to savour.
Liam
Guest
If some of it was pressure, all of it was. Its not just pressure like a man bearing down on you... Its the fact its the big game and the first quarter final sexton played for instance.... That pressure. They didn't handle it did they. First wc pressure game in sextons career, and he goes on tilt and has a mare. His last too. On a scale, let's be honest the 6 Nations mattered last year, a bit. And ireland played great. But the end destination was Japan. And we can read those results in context now. Not as good a team as it seemed. Will find out about the other teams next week!
Liam Watson
Guest
Yeah irish guy yanked him back by the collar to stop him making the tackle
Liam Watson
Guest
It goes to show they were focusing on the wrong thing. yes, great to hear a team and have confidence. But every time sa or Aussie play the abs they've beaten them before. Its no guarantee its going to happen!
Liam
Guest
Neutral how bad was sexton. On tilt early and that was that