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PARIS – Revenge. It’s the word on the tips of tongues of New Zealanders and Irish folk alike after that series 15 months ago.
That series of course was Ireland’s come-from-behind series victory in New Zealand – the All Blacks’ first home series loss in more than three decades.
It was also the setting for one of rugby’s biggest sledges in recent years, as Peter O’Mahony, according to footage picked up from Jaco Peyper’s ref microphone, told All Blacks captain he was a “Shit Richie McCaw, pal”.
Now, fresh from sealing their quarter-final spot with a convincing 36-14 victory over Scotland, Johnny Sexton says knocking over the revenge-seeking All Blacks in next week’s quarterfinal will be “biggest challenge in rugby” as Ireland attempt to rid almost four decades of World Cup heartbreak.
It’s also their first clash since Ireland’s famous series-clinching win in Wellington.
By doing so, the entire nation turned the heat on Ian Foster and his coaching team. Some were shown the door, while Foster, whose cards have already been marked with Scott Robertson to replace him following the World Cup, was an inch away from being sacked too.
The series victory came despite Ireland suffering a heavy first-up defeat at Eden Park, as they failed to take their chances and then had the screws turned on them as Aaron Smith ignited their victory.
But off the back of unrelenting pressure, a brilliant kicking strategy and a strong set-piece, Ireland hit back in Dunedin before sealing their come-from-behind series victory in the New Zealand capital.
The series win confirmed Ireland’s status as World Cup contenders.
Ireland celebrate their a first half try against Scotland that put on the path to the World Cup quarters at the Stade de France in Paris. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Sexton, who has suffered World Cup heartbreak more than most, said the series victory was shaped by the pressure the team was put under by head coach Andy Farrell, who was Warren Gatland’s assistant during the British and Irish Lions’ come-from-behind, controversial drawn series against the All Blacks in 2017.
“We went to New Zealand and Andy told us he put us under the most pressure he could find. To go on a three-test tour but also do the midweek games, it was to test us and to make us learn,” Sexton said.
“We learned so many lessons on that tour to take with us for the Six Nations, to win a Grand Slam. To put us in this situation again, to have to play them again.
“They have said it’s the one they want, they are hurting and they want to put it right. That is the biggest challenge in rugby, to beat them when they are in that frame of mind. Two teams will both be under pressure and it will be who copes with that the best.
“It’ll be a very tough game and I see they have been talking about revenge already. It’ll be a game they want and we need to be ready for it.”
Ireland celebrate after their Test series victory against the All Blacks in 2022. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Since starting their comeback in Dunedin, Ireland have gone on to win 17 straight Tests, including this year’s Six Nations grand slam.
Victory over the All Blacks would see Ireland join New Zealand and England’s world record of 18 straight Tests.
Making the achievement all the more remarkable is that would include victories over every nation inside the top 10 of World Rugby’s rankings.
Nor do they look like stopping anytime soon either, with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend saying Ireland can dominate the world for the next “five to 10 years” given their emerging talent.
Farrell said it showed how far Ireland had come to be compared with the All Blacks, but acknowledged next week’s quarter-final was a whole new ball-game.
“New Zealand are a fantastic side and for little old Ireland to be talked about in the same bracket shows how far we have come as a playing nation,” the former dual international England inside back said.
“But the respect we have for New Zealand is through the roof. The form they have right now is top drawer and, as Johnny said before, I’m sure they will be relishing this fixture to try and put a few things right.
“It’s as tough as it gets, two weeks ago it was a tough game [against South Africa] and this one was knock-out rugby.
“It gets a whole lot tougher next week against the All Blacks and hopefully they will have to be at their best to beat us as well.
“It’s what dreams are made of. As far as a quarter-final is concerned it doesn’t get any tougher, the respect we have got for New Zealand is through the roof and hopefully they have got a bit of respect for us.”
Ian Foster admits the All Blacks got “smacked” by Ireland last year but are “ready” for their quarter-final. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Foster, speaking two days before their quarter-final match-up was confirmed, said the All Blacks were “ready” after learning from the painful “uppercuts” delivered to the side by losing to Ireland at home.
“In 2022 we had a poor start to the season but we lost to a team that’s world number one and played really well,” Foster said.
“We got smacked and that’s OK – we took our medicine.
“We’ve been rebuilding nicely since then, so I like where we’re at. A little bit of adversity never hurt anyone if you use it well.
“The key to any path you walk on is you just own your errors and own your mistakes and get on with it. I believe we’ve done that.
“It was an uppercut we got and to be fair we’ve had those uppercuts before, but sometimes you get an uppercut but you just happen to come out on the winning side of it.
“We lost a few games but it doesn’t change where we are right now, and we’re ready.”
Two-time World Rugby player of the year Beauden Barrett was one of the many who came under fire for the series defeat.
Their series loss once again put the nation’s strategy of playing dual playmakers at fly-half and fullback, while the All Blacks’ forward pack was also given a brutal reality check.
Barrett, who won the World Cup in 2015, said he was looking forward to getting another crack at Ireland.
“We learned a lot during that series,” said Barrett, following their clinic against Uruguay.
“It was a challenging time, some of the most challenging times we’ve faced as an All Black team and personally, losing a series in our backyard. But what we know is the beast that Ireland are and if you allow them to dictate up front and play they want they want to, they are a tough team to stop.
“So if it’s Ireland in the quarter-finals it’s going to be great because there’s a lot of us who are pretty keen to get one up on them and still hurting from what happened last year.”
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.