By Mark Jones
Scoreline:
New Zealand 40
Ireland 29
DUBLIN — For a while it looked as if Lansdowne Road was about to witness rugby history. For the best part of a century, Ireland had never beaten New Zealand, but there were moments during last Saturday’s international friendly when the roles of the haves and the have nots were reversed.
The Irish built on their impressive victory over England in the Six Nations tournament by producing a magnificent first half full of flair and confidence.
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Leading by 21-7 after the changeover Saturday, the unthinkable seemed suddenly possible, but as if someone had flipped a switch, the All Blacks lit up and stormed away with a devastating burst.
In the space of a half hour, they scored 33 points, including five on tries while the solitary Irish riposte was a David Humphreys drop goal. The home team’s ultimate obliteration was down as much to weariness at to New Zealand’s excellence, but in a professional game there can be no excuses for not lasting the pace.
In the end, Ireland were unable to sustain the ferocity of that opening 40 minutes, and despite their clinical nature, several of the All Blacks’ tries in the second half should not have been conceded by Irish defense, which by that stage was out on its feet.
At least both the final scoreline and the performance gave Warren Gatland and his players some heart — so many previous Irish teams have been beaten in embarrassing circumstances by New Zealand, yet there was still a strong feeling of what might have been.
“I’m really proud of then way we defended,” Gatland said, “and we scored three tries against them, which doesn’t happen to the All Blacks too often. But we’re still disappointed. We felt that we had it there and let it slip away.”
For team captain Keith Wood, there was the realization that New Zealand were able to take the pace of the game up to another level.
“When they did that, we weren’t able to cope, and we have a lot of work to do, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
If there was collective frustration at the outcome, several individuals enchanced their reputations during a thrilling contest. Humphreys was immaculate at out-half, Eric Miller had another impressive game, and Shane Horgan performed superbly in his personal duel with Jonah Lomu before having to go off with an ankle injury 20 minutes from the end.
Ireland’s start was breathtaking, and sandwiched in between a penalty and a drop goal by Humphreys, center Kevin Maggs scored a stunning try following a sublime assist by Humphreys. New Zealand responded with a try, but Ireland’s 16-7 halftime lead was fully deserved and it increased soon after the break when Brian O’Driscoll paved the way for a Denis Hickie try.
But at 21-7, it was the All Blacks who stepped up and Ireland who wilted. The powerhouse Lomu came more into the game, scoring one of his team’s avalanche of tries, and while Miller had the determination to reply with Ireland’s third toward the end, the visitors knew they had already secured victory.
It was a great game and a great occasion. A day when the gap between the Irish and the best of the southern hemisphere narrowed just a bit.
Ireland: G. Dempsey; S. Horgan, B. O’Driscoll, K. Maggs, D. Hickie; D. Humphreys, P. Stringer; P. Clohessy, K. Wood (capt.), J. Hayes, M. Galwey, M. O’Kelly, E. Miller, D. Wallace, A. Foley. Subs: E. Byrne for Hayes, 55 mins.; G. Longwell for Galwey, M. Mullins for Horgan, both 59 mins.