Key events
Our full match report is here
Scott Robertson is chatting on TNT Sport
âWhat a rivalry we have [with Ireland] eh? Weâve split the last 10 tests really. I thought we defended incredibly well, that was the difference. Weâve talked a lot about composure, things like [the yellow card] is going to happen, and we had to ride that out. Itâs pleasing to see how tight we are tonight, the weeks weâve had together are bringing us together. Weâve still got two wins to get on this tour.â
On the flip side New Zealand are winning again, with two wins away from home in games their recent form suggested they were eminently capable of losing. Scott Robertson will know thereâs plenty to do, but both tonight and vs England his team were the better side; albeit grading on a weak curve.
A pretty poor game, containing an equally sub-par performance from an Ireland team that delivered their first loss at home for 19 matches.
The next phase for them will be interesting to observe as this is the first time since Andy Farrell took over that they begun to trend down. What will he do to fix it? Can he fix it?
FULL TIME! NEW ZEALAND WIN IN DUBLIN!
Ireland 13-23 New Zealand: McKenzie chips it into touch to bring the match to an end. Nothing more than a sigh emanates from the crowd.
79 mins. A kick from Osbourne turns Jordie Barrett around, but this simply allow the big man to slowly jog back, gather it and whomp it to touch to waste some more seconds.
78 mins. Hansen is busy again and is almost away when gathering a kick chase, but he canât offload cleanly so itâs another handling error and more time gobbled up by an NZ scrum.
Weâre ticking to the inevitable All Black win and the Aviva stadium is now set to a discontented murmur.
76 mins. Back come Ireland and van der Flier flicks a cheeky offload to Hansen for the winger to look up and drill a kick deep into the 22 to find touch. Itâs a good territorial move, but NZ will have the throw in to the lineout and itâs a little too late to play the percentages for the home side.
74 mins. Ireland a busy with quick phases and carries hoping to create the gap to exploit in the defence. But at the breakdown the clearout is a little too late to arrive and thatâs all Ardie Savea needs to get right in there to legally clamp on the ball to win a massive penalty for his team. The ball is gratefully despatched to touch well away from the All Black 22.
72 mins. It looked terribly ominous for Ireland until the ball spilled to James Lowe who kicks the most outrageous 50:22 you will ever see, crafted with the outside of his left peg in about a five metre channel from on the left touchline.
71 mins. Ciaran Frawley gets himself under a big McKenzie clearing kick but bunts it off his hands to give NZ a scrum just outside the Irish 22. You have to feel if the All Blacks turn this into a score itâs really all over â if it isnât already.
TRY! Ireland 13 – 23 New Zealand (Will Jordan)
69 mins. New Zealand are growing in fluidity and they pour their attack all over the field, first working to the right touchline before moving all hands to the left via Aumua to Jordan in a country acre of space to ground in the corner.
McKenzie canât convert it.
65 mins. Thereâs fifteen minutes left and it feels like New Zealand are starting to grind a wining performance from this grindhouse game. Ireland appear to be set to make more mistakes and struggle in the scrum; this alloyed with McKenzieâs boot could do for the home side.
PENALTY! Ireland 13 – 18 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
64 mins. Frawley fizzes a pass that bounces forward off Hendersonâs shoulder which gives New Zealand possession from a scrum. The ball is fired right to Teleâa who eats up his usual improbable ground and on the next phase Henderson is pinged for not releasing.
PENALTY! Ireland 13 – 15 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
61 mins. Ireland look like they have a nudge in the scrum, but the touch judge spots it was due to Bealham boring in and the refs arm signals a pen to NZ.
McKenzie doesnât let the recent post-hitting trouble him and caresses one over from 40 metres.
59 mins. Frawley welcomes himself into the game by chucking a dummy and having a run, heâs hauled down and then possession is traded a few times via kicks.
Tom OâToole picked up an injury in back play which means Finlay Bealham has to return.
56 mins. Ciaran Frawley, Rob Herring, Tom OâToole and Iain Henderson on for Jack Crowley, Ronan Kelleher, Bealham, and Joe McCarthy.
MISSED PENALTY! Ireland 13 – 12 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
55 mins. Two minutes of NZ possession has them mostly going nowhere, but Ireland let them off the hook by not releasing in the tackle. Itâs about 45 metres out, but McKenzie isnât shy and sends it through the air only to see it rebound back off the post!
53 mins. From their scrum on halfway Ireland run a nice pattern on first phase that the NZ defence deals with comfortably due to none of the black defenders biting on the dummy runners. As the ball comes right to left Crowley spills it.
Another scrum coming, this one for the All Blacks.
50 mins. Jordie Barrett is back on the field, and Cam Roigard has replaced Cortez Ratima and scrum half.
PENALTY! Ireland 13 – 12 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
48 mins. McKenzie starts his run up but the ball falls off the tee! He quickly reassembles and nonchalantly booms it through from 50 metres. That was one hell of a kick.
47 mins. Irelandâs tails are up in the last few mins, with the intensity and ruck upped a few notches and causing NZ to fluff their breakdown. However, McCarthy is a bit too keen and gives a penalty away on halfway.
âHi Lee,â says Liam Rooney, â (Disclaimer- Iâm Irish). One of the reasons that weâve lost a couple of lineouts is that the ref isnât reffing the gap. Cost us dearly the last time.we played this lot.â
Itâs a fair observation. Iâm surprised Kelleher and Doris arenât refusing to throw in, to be honest; sometimes you have to force the red into calling something
TRY! Ireland 13 – 9 New Zealand (Josh van der Flier)
44 mins. Itâs a safe scrum from the Irish pack and the ball is away and being moved through hands and carries. The attack moves left to right to van der Flier who rams in on the angle and does enough to kiss the whitewash with the ball.
Crowley converts.
Thatâs 10 points from Ireland in the time J Barrett has been in the bin.
42 mins. THe ref blasts on his whistle as he spotted a blocking run from NZ to prevent Ireland getting to their own kick off. James Lowe greets this with as undignified a reaction as you will see, full arms pumping, chest out âWE ARE SPARTA!â hollering style.
Crowley goes to the corner but they make a total mess of the lineout, then recover their position by tackling McKenzie over the line in possession.
Second Half!
Itâs Jack Crowleyâs turn to punt us into action. The ball is gathered deep in NZ territory by Teleâa.
The game so far a whole lot of nothing other than some mistakes, some poor discipline and a few kicks. Ireland showed with their final attack that the can get over the gainline with ease if they organise and play the way we and they know is possible. Have to consider the lack of prep time for the home team.
Mind you, NZ have no such excuse and they have hands like feet for most part thus far, so who knows.
Have to have some sympathy with the damp conditions, which must be an issue for players from Ireland and New Zealand. Er, hang onâ¦
Half Time!
PEEEEEEEP! And that brings the first half to a close.
PENALTY! Ireland 6 – 9 New Zealand (Jack Crowley)
40 mins. Crowley lets the dust settle then slots his kick.
YELLOW CARD! Jordie Barrett (NZ)
39 mins. Finally Ireland have some quality first phase possession and Aki decides heâs tolerating no more nonsense and hammers a carry into the defence and offloads to Ringrose who takes a big, high hit from Jordie Barrett. The ball is moved away to Hansen but he canât make headway due to Scott Barrett infringing at the breakdown.
The ref calls us back to look at that high hit and decides its a yellow and referral for consideration of a red.
PENALTY! Ireland 3 – 9 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
38 mins. Another Ireland penalty in the defensive scramble, this time itâs James Ryan not making much of an effort to roll away. Itâs in the 22, the Ref warns Doris the next will be a card, and McKenzie adds three to the NZ total.
36 mins. Kelleher has another lineout nicked, and in the next phase Beirne is penalised for not releasing the tackler. New Zealand would dearly love some points before half time and they set about their attack in the green half.
33 mins. Ireland have a lineout in the NZ 22 after Sam Cane is pinged for hands in the ruck. Kelleher goes front ball to Doris before the ball is released to Aki who smashes into the back line. The ball pops out of the breakdown thanks to some top level skullduggery on the ground from and unidentified All Black arm which allows Caleb Clarke to clear.
30 mins. Messy few minutes from both teams, with NZ again their own worst enemy when it comes to not dropping the ball forward.
PENALTY! Ireland 3 – 6 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
28 mins. The NZ 10 makes no mistake and they are in front!
27 mins. Slowly, assuredly, malevolently the All Blacks scrum is starting to mangle Ireland a bit. This is deep in Irish territory and catherine wheeled into a collapse as the green pack crumpled. Ref Berry said it wasnât deliberate (hmmm?) and we reset, but the next one gleans an NZ free kick.
They tap and go before and Irish high shot gives McKenzie a kickable shot.
25 mins. All that good work from New Zealand creating an eiderdown of promise is ruined when Aumuaâs squint lineout throw vomits all over it.
24 mins. The All Blacks finally put some phases together from a lineout and it doesnât take them long to get up to the Irish 22. There were carries from McKenzie and Clarke, with the soft hands of Sititi in the midst of it. Ireland are offside in defence â their lack of discipline when scrambling remains an issue â and this allows NZ to have a lineout deep in the attack zone.
22 mins. A break in play allows Ben Kay and Brian OâDriscoll to have some Sexton autobiography banter on comms. It was a woeful as you can imagine.
Mercifully weâre back in play and NZ continue to get a bit more a foothold in the match, but cannot hold the ball long enough to trouble Ireland enough. Shades of Twickenham last week with the lack of precision. The Irish to their credit are scrambling well and perhaps forcing some errors.
18 mins. A miss-pass is fired in the NZ midfield which achieves nothing but allowing Ringrose to put in a bone-powdering hit on Ioane it was so telegraphed. The All Blacks do enough to secure possession thanks to Teleâaâs knack of being able to get over the gainline whatever the circumstances. Honestly, that fella would still get through the first defender against a Panzer Tank XV.
15 mins. Will Jordan diffuses a Crowley bomb and finds a good touch to clear his lines. This looks an even better kick a few seconds later when Vaaiâi nicks the Ireland lineout and the home defence concede a penalty for obstruction.
13 mins. Thereâs been a bit of niggle present so far and it finally boils over into some pushing and shoving, with Scott Barrett and Joe McCarthy the main event amongst the pasty. When it all calms down we return for an Ireland scrum just in the NZ half.
12 mins. Hansen is lively as usual so far, popping up all over the park and this time his pass in midfield slips through Akiâs hands under zero pressure around halfway. Pretty poor from the big centre.
PENALTY! Ireland 3 – 3 New Zealand (Damien McKenzie)
10 mins. Ratima picks up a loose ball that has come off Ref Berry and scoots 30 metres upfield, this puts Ireland on the scramble and they infringe at the next breakdown in their half.
McKenzie decides he fancies it. Itâs the correct call.
PENALTY! Ireland 3 – 0 New Zealand (Jack Crowley)
7 mins. Ardie Savea makes a meal of getting the ball away from a solid NZ scrum before McKenzie creams a massive touchfinder. Ireland are quickly back at them via a Gibson-Park kick that Hansen chases.
The ref rules the Ireland winger was impeded in his chase by Jordie Barrett. It looked a bit harsh, but that doesnât trouble Crowley who puts his side in front from the tee.
4 mins. First scrum of the game is Irelandâs and gives the two packs an early chance get a feel for each other. Thereâs couple of no-fault collapses before the ball emerges into the green backline. They are making some headway around the 22, with Hansen and Doris having a carry each before Ringrose fumbles it forward.
2 mins. Ireland are tenacious in defence and already Ratima is hurried into a box kick thatâs charged down by Porter from the fringe of the ruck. As the black defence scramble they knock the ball on while snatching at it on the ground on their 10m line.
Kick off!
Nick Berry toots his disciplinayy flute and weâre underway, the ball received by Ireland.
Haka Response Watch!
Rieko Ioane leads his team in the pre-match challenge, Ireland take the traditional interlocked arms round the shoulders, standing in a line while staring approach.
But wait! Thereâs a late stroll forward a few steps by the Irish. The crowd react a bit before it all comes to an end quickly.
The teams are in the tunnel, waiting for the bit when the drums and bass drop in âWhere The Streets Have No Nameâ before they are allowed to run on the pitch. Which the duly do.
âCan remember giving out an involuntary cheer at the end of FNL season 1 as itâs a different end to that of the film and book.â says Morgan. âProperly felt like a Shane Williams scoring against Scotland moment at the time. If that is a spoiler for anyone, all three have been out for over a decade.â
WhistleWatch
Referee: Nic Berry (Aus)
Asisstants: Karl Dickson (Eng) & Andrea Piardi (Ita)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Aus)
âNew Zealand have a lot of growth still needed both in the playing and coaching staff, some decent baby steps this season but plenty to work on.â posits Bernards Ben on the email, âIreland by some accounts view us as public enemy #1 these days, the arenaâs going to be incendiary! One good thing about the All Blacks though, a win is never an outlandish prospect. And yet I still this is it Irelandâs game.â
Pre match reading
Andy Farrell has already had a good week with his big win on the Wigan RLFC monthly lotto!
Ireland fans will hope that hasnât used up all his luck before this match.
Why not get in touch and tell me about your favourite character or storyline from Friday Night Lights? Was season 2 as poor as people said at the time (I donât think so)? Or I suppose we could talk about the actual game if you insist. Whatever you fancy chatting about email me your thoughts or you could reach out on Bluesky @bloodandmud (Iâm done with X these days)
Teams
Andy Farrell will be pleased to welcome back Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and Jamison Gibson-Park; each of whom have been fundamental to the success of this side in recent years. Tadhg Furlong is out, however, which brings Finlay Bealham into the pack.
New Zealand will play tonight with the injured Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor. This turn of events means Scott Robertson plays Damien McKenzie at 10 and Asafo Aumua continues at hooker, where he played most of last week v England following Taylorâs early injury.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Tom OâToole, Iain Henderson, Peter OâMahony, Conor Murray, Ciaran Frawley, Jamie Osborne
New Zealand: Will Jordan; Mark Teleâa, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Damien McKenzie, Cortez Ratima; Tamaita Williams, Asafo Aumua, Tyrel Lomax, Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaaâi, Wallace Sititi, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea
Replacements: Gorge Bell, Ofa Tuâungafasi, Pasilo Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Cam Roigard, Anton Leinert-Brown, Stephen Perofeta
Preamble
Welcome to Dublin, where Ireland commence their Autumn International fixtures by welcoming New Zealand. This should be quite the Test match, and thatâs before you consider the men in green are facing the team that splintered their collective souls into a million pieces with that defeat in the quarter-final of last yearâs Rugby World Cup.
This could bring as much drama as the TV show that shares the timing and illumination status of this clash â Friday Night Lights. Indeed the Ireland team is not unlike the Dillon Panthers of that serial. A serious but inspiringly dark eyed coach whoâs been married for ages and has kids miles apart in age; key players in the team giving more than a hint they might be too old for the role by this stage of the series; a key playmaker still in the shadow of his more talented predecessor; and a suited back office director or sport type bloke behind the scenes who has a record of not treating women in the employ of his company very well. (Yes, I bloody love the show Friday Night Lights, what of it?)
All this is to say that Ireland come into this match with the nagging feeling that the squad is both overcooked in age profile and undergarnished in terms of preparation; especially matched against the two hit outs the All Blacks have absorbed.
Itâs a tricky tie to call. New Zealand are nothing like the side they have been for most of their existence, with some fundamental issues still be resolved by Scott Robertson, not least their discipline. Andy Farrellâs men are as usual made from a core of a Leinster team that have coasted their way to an undefeated domestic season, will this plus the short time in camp be enough to have them ready to deal with an NZ squad giddy from a Twickenham win?
Stick around with me to find out.
