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Was it revenge for a senior home series defeat, a desire to show the selectors that the All Blacks full squad had been poorly selected or just a bunch of guys who wanted to show that they either still had, or were going to have, the requirements to play international code within this World Cup cycle?
Add to any of those reasons a coaching team that got the mix of physicality, set piece focus and speed of ball in hand bang on in a 47-19 All Blacks XV win over Ireland A that still flattered the home side.
Whatever the motivation, the All Blacks XV showed up on Ireland’s shores and handed out a hiding as comprehensive as anything seen in recent years and in truth, they were dominant in all aspects of the game. Looking at the selections, there were plenty of names in the Irish selection who have been touted as the next big thing for the senior side who will want to forget that 80 minutes as fast as possible.
There were two battles that summed up the one-sidedness of this contest. Craig Casey, Ireland A’s halfback, captain for the day and often pushed as being ready for the next step, was hounded by TJ Perenara to such an extent that I wouldn’t be surprised if TJP followed him home and made the rest of his night as much of a nightmare as the evening had been.
I lost count of number of times Casey was caught at the base of the ruck as the understanding of the ball being live as soon as it is lifted seemed to be beyond him. Perenara had an absolute belter of a match – hand over the player of the day pint glass right now.
From timing his runs, defensive shooting 2-3 channels out from the ruck, to acting like another loose forward at counter ruck time, to making really good decisions from the base of the offensive ruck, It was a throwback to his very best days.
Hands up time for me, many times I have put TJP into the ‘never go back’ category but put that performance up against the nightmare Finlay Christie had in Japan and it’s a no contest.
Another game like that when they come up against Barbarians and he has his name right back in the mix for Rugby World Cup year, he was that good.
If there is a caveat about his performance, it is that Ireland made it so easy. The patterns of play may have been straight from the Andy Farrell blueprint, but the pace of execution, especially in the narrow channels, was woeful.
Slow ball from the base translated into constantly being knocked over in the midfield and being blitzed on the ground by an ABXV forward effort that cheered the heart compared to some of the senior efforts in the last two years. Time after time the ABXV’s inside defence belted the green ball carriers behind the line as wave after wave of counter ruck arrived and the composure we so often see from the Irish senior side, just melted away.
And it is in the loose forwards that the next signature moment for the match occurred.
From an attacking scrum, after a wave of penalties to the home side that would have had South Africa’s video team reaching for the editing software, Gavin Coombes, the Irish No.8 picked up and went left to the openside, where he was absolutely belted by Luke Jacobson and driven back from whence he came.
The selection of the All Black senior loose forwards has drawn plenty of comment this year, as has the lack of physical presence from both Akira Ioane and Hoskins Sotutu which has caused ruck defence issues come Test time.
Nothing of the same affected the Black second string. Led by the in everything Luke Jacobson, Dominic Gardiner, all of 21 years old, and Highlander 8th man Marino Mikaele-Tu’u were enormous.
They dominated the gain line and breakdown blitzing and Irish side in an area where one would have expected more home side presence. Add in big games from Josh Dickson and Brodie McAlistair with an excellent lineout maul defence, and the only question was how much the final margin would be.
The backline made every post a winner with the speed of ball they received, with none eclipsing Shaun Stevenson, who if we remember, was not a selection in the original squad when it was announced, which was a mystery to everyone except the All Black selectors. Is that Wayne Bennett’s phone I can hear ringing?
Damian McKenzie put his name back in the mix to challenge Stephen Perofeta for that 10/15 covering position, Roger Tuivasa Scheck and Braydon Ennor looked a far better combination than last week, although defensively Ireland asked nothing like the questions Japan did with their rapid ball movement, and Ruben Love’s work at the back showed he is likely to have a long future near the top of the New Zealand game.
One thing worth noting was the length on his kicks, while you always want to be finding grass if you can, if the opposition back field is filled, then you must have length on the kick and he made the Dublin air look like the high veldt as he tore metres off with the boot.
In summary, this ‘second team’ coaching ticket delivered a outcome we have all been calling for from the senior side for two years. Tight piece expertise (Ireland lost 3 of their opening 7 lineouts), an absolute defensive blitz at the gain line and counter ruck and speed of ball movement that simply did not allow the normally excellent Irish cover to ever get set.
If the rest of the weekend’s rugby is anything like this, we are all in for treat.
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.