Ireland 22 New Zealand 24

There had been a fluffed penalty miss from an easy position from Jonny Sexton

with six minutes remaining, a crucial, crucial factor in the eventual

outcome, putting Ireland two scores clear. The kick that would have

resonated for ever and a day will instead haunt Sexton’s dreams.

“That was game over if it had landed,” Richie McCaw, the All Blacks captain,

said. “You could sense a lift in our boys that there was still a chance.”

There was majesty in the sweep of the play, thunder in the tackle, fumbles as

well as flourishes, all breathlessly relayed, no one ducking their

responsibility. It was all there, played out to a raucous backdrop.

The Aviva Stadium authorities usually send sane men into a rage by blaring out

music during lulls in play. There was no need yesterday. If the sport is

good enough, the noise levels look after themselves.

For their refusal to bow to the seemingly inevitable, trailing 19-0 with just

18 minutes gone; for their grit and togetherness, for the depth of their

resolve and fitness, for their sheer bloody-mindedness, New Zealand deserve

their accolades. You do not get lucky this often. You believe and you work

for each other until the very end.

The All Blacks enter the record books as the only team in the professional era

to go through an entire season without a mark against them. 14 Tests, 14

wins. They will sleep easy in their southern summer.

“We survived a s— storm,” was the pithy assessment of New Zealand head coach

Steve Hansen. “It was not a matter of the All Blacks not turning up. Ireland

rattled us. Our heart-monitors were going through the roof. But you saw a

special effort from a special All Black team.”

This was as close as anyone has got to them. The Springboks dented the All

Blacks, so too England

but it is Ireland who managed to take dirty great lumps out of them. The

upshot is that the rugby world is in a far better place this morning.

Supreme as New Zealand are at the top of the rankings, their aura has

frayed. They are beatable. Just not yet.

Ireland’s misery was total. It will not get any easier with the passing of

time. They have never beaten New Zealand in 108 years and 28 attempts. They

may never get as close again.

“That was an opportunity missed,” Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said. “To be a

minute away from history, with the ball in your hands on their 10-metre

line, is devastating.”

For long stretches of the first half, you had to do a double-take to figure as

to who was in green and who in black. Ireland played with New Zealand edge

and accuracy. There was the “bit of madness” pledged by man-of-the-match

Sean O’Brien but there was intelligence underpinning the ferocity. Heart and

head were in perfect union.

O’Brien led the charge, ably assisted by prop Cian Healy with Paul O’Connell

playing a captain’s part.

Ireland were not daunted by the challenge. The fear of humiliation can be

quite a spur. From the horrors of their performance against Australia

to the splendour of this, Ireland were on their mettle from the kick-off,

ripping in to New Zealand. It was a dizzying opening with tries from Conor

Murray, Rory Best, who broke a bone in an arm, and a 75-metre breakaway romp

from Rob Kearney threatening to tilt planet rugby on its axis.

The New Zealand fightback began with a well-worked try from Julian Savea in

the 26th minute. Even so, with a 22-7 lead at half-time, Ireland were set

fair. Slowly, though, they were reeled in. Beauden Barrett’s arrival

galvanised New Zealand. Ben Franks trundled over in the 65th minute, Sexton

missed, Crotty struck and an entire nation headed into the night to drown

sorrows.

Wonderful, quite wonderful.

Article source: http://web.orange.co.uk/p/rugbyleague/match?game_id=118177&competition_id=1

Ireland 22 New Zealand 24