Something new and some things you knew: Maori All Blacks vs Ireland

The Maori All Blacks and Ireland played a willing and mostly entertaining game in difficult conditions on Wednesday night. It was so nice to see a tour game and it did provide some food for thought ahead of the first Test on Saturday.

You would want to be cautious about drawing too many big conclusions from this game. With only a handful of sleeps until the big dance on Saturday this was largely a game involving fringe players for both national sides.

At the same time, there will be some structural elements that are of interest to both sides, a few individual performances and the matter of Murray Mexted’s famous ‘ebb and flow of psychic energy’ (not to mention the joy of having your ‘hooker come inside of you’ and some other splendid Mextedisms, all of which are forgiven because the man was such a totemic player and a fine rugby mind, even allowing for jumbled syntax).

Perhaps not surprisingly, this was a game of two parts, but it was not a game of two halves. There was one part to about 30 minutes that was fairly even and then a spurt of 10 minutes where the Maori All Blacks did as most New Zealand sides can do and blew the game open, almost from nothing and then there was the rest of the game that was more or less like the first 30 minutes.

Ireland didn’t do a lot wrong in those 10 minutes just before half time, but they were exposed by the innate pace and skill of the Maori All Blacks. A contested kick from Ireland saw a rapid and accurate transfer under pressure, players running into space and a try at the far end of the ground. This is not a new story, but it should be a timely reminder to Ireland.

In general, I felt the Irish had their hands full with the physicality of the Maori All Blacks at collision and around the ruck.

At half time, one of Ireland’s assistant coaches, looking a bit like a dazed escapee from Dunkirk, identified the ruck as an area of concern. The Maori All Blacks were quick into the collision and tended to pour into the ruck.

I didn’t see anything notably illegal – it was just fast, hard, uncompromising work, of the kind that has been a hallmark of New Zealand rugby since the dawn of rugby time.

If I was to identify anything, from an Irish perspective, it might be summed up by a moment in the second half (73rd minute) when Ireland were pressing on attack.

The ball carrier was cut in half in the tackle and driven backwards and then several Maori All Blacks players piled in over the top and won the penalty.

At least one came in from the side, but it all happened very quickly and the side entry only became apparent on replay.

The referee, quite understandably, had already blown the penalty. As in most sports, the side with the initiative, moving at speed and going forward will get the close calls. Ireland are going to have do better at the collisions, so that they can exert more control over the pace of what happens next. Easy to say.

(Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

New Zealand will take some heart form the set piece performance of the Maori All Blacks. Ireland are going to have their hands full at scrum and lineout.

The most rousing scrum win came from the Maori All Blacks in the first half (33rd minute), when they dismantled ireland’s scrum and try as I might, I couldn’t identify more than a win in the shoving and timing.

Ireland will probably be hoping, or sweating, on the scrum penalty awarded by Wayne Barnes in the second half against New Zealand for scrumming across and wheeling, rather than taking the pressure. It is hardly a tactic unique to New Zealand, but it may be a picture that Ireland look to paint. The referee for the first test isn’t my idea of predictable, so who knows.

I don’t know if Cullen Grace will have played his way into the All Blacks. I thought he had a good game in the ruck and defensively, but I didn’t see the carrying power that I might have liked. He wasn’t overwhelmed when he carried, he just didn’t bust things open, so it may well be a matter of what the All Blacks selectors are looking for that determines whether this was a defining performance or not.

I thought he was a good performer at lineout, particularly on defence and even when he didn’t steal an Irish throw he put the catcher under pressure and I liked the way he watched, judged and moved when defending at lineout. For mine, if Grace plays, Ardie Savea is on the bench and Pita Gus Sowakula gets a run for carrying power. If fit, Sam Cane always starts. I don’t think the All Blacks selectors see it that way.

Cullen Grace of the Crusaders (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

On the whole I thought Ireland’s defensive structures looked good.

There was a moment in the second half when it really struck me.

They missed a first up tackle and a wide break was made down the wing but when that break was brought to ground some 20 meters on, there was a pretty solid Irish wall already formed to hold the next phase.

So, missed first up tackles were an issue but the overall structure seemed pretty sound. The Irish would be hoping that the first up tackles were as much about players lacking familiarity with each other as they were with coping with the speed and agility of the Maori All Blacks players.

They will be hoping that the first team has the cohesion to cut down on those missed first up tackles.

I also assume that whomever was responsible for the asinine tactics of endless tap-kicks for Ireland at the start of the second half, when they got a string of penalties deep in the Maori All Blacks 22 will be chastened and that Ireland will take points when on offer in the Test.

Take the points, receive the kick off and go again. The scoreboard, not endless rucks, is what really builds pressure. It really shouldn’t be news that New Zealand sides can defend and will defend and the more you play, the more they will hurt you when you stuff up and have no points to show.

The Irish may also want to take notice that their best moments with the ball came when they either turned the ball back inside, right off the ruck, or ran big men into the second and third channel rather than merely bashed the ball up. Ireland have some big units who will take a lot of bringing down if used properly.

New Zealand will almost certainly be fielding a somewhat makeshift midfield and they want to be applying pressure there, forcing defensive decisions and moving the defensive line about. If they try to just bash up next to the ruck, I believe that Sam Cane will single handedly eat them alive. Ireland’s 20th minute try, when they opened up the seam in midfield between the forwards and backs would be worth both sides studying. I will leave aside the irony of the scorer being Bundee Aki.

I imagine Ireland will be concerned by the injuries they sustained – perhaps most especially to talented and experienced front rower Cian Healy.

Although a back (and hence of peripheral importance), it was hard to ignore the impact of Zarn Sullivan. He appears to be another victim of the mullet craze, but one can almost forgive him.

He isn’t a big body but he still makes ground in the tackle and it was hard to criticise his positional play at full back. His footwork, in traffic and off a poor pass to score in the first half was a sight to behold. Without a tour game, you wouldn’t have seen this.

At half time I was wondering if the damage done to Ireland might be profound in psychological terms. They looked shocked and awed. At the end of the game, although well beaten, my sense was that they would have felt a bit more comfortable that they could identify the issues. Whether they can deal with them we will see.

Finally, I would like to note two things. It was great to see a tour game where some fine servants of the game in New Zealand who likely won’t feature in the tests got a chance, maybe a last chance, to shine. Josh Dickson and TJ Perenara were two such.

The other was a genuine and emotional tribute to a fine rugby player, Sean Wainui, whose untimely death should be a reminder of the load borne by those who give us such viewing pleasure. I loved watching him play. He was fast, skilful, courageous and he never gave less than everything.

Maybe he gave too much. His five tries against the Waratahs will always be burned in my memory. If he had been anywhere but New Zealand I have no doubt he would have been a multi-capped test player. I hope his family recover as best as can be.