QuoteIt appeared in Mondays Indo.
For those not registered with the Indo website:
Harsh reality bites home as tourists throw victory away
New Zealand 34 Ireland 23
Hamilton
THE message was wearily delivered but forthright nonetheless.
Riled at Saturday's extension of a sorry 101-year winless streak against the All Blacks being heralded as the latest in a line of plucky endeavours, Ireland's genius, Brian O'Driscoll, desperately sought to sow the seeds for a stirring Eden Park revival.
"We put together a 60 to 62-minute performance, but against the All Blacks that's not good enough, you've got to play for the full 80," said the inspiring centre, whose wonderful performance exorcised the demons which must have plagued him ahead of his return to New Zealand soil.
His midfield partner, Gordon D'Arcy was hardly circumspect in his reaction to the crushing defeat.
"We lost it," he says quietly, as an icy chill of harsh reality sweeps through the innards of the Waikato Stadium.
So true. Ireland played for just under an hour, then conceded 19 points to slump from being two scores ahead (23-15) to a losing deficit which sided with the handicapper's view.
The havoc the All Blacks caused when they finally hit their stride bears ominous portents. Consider the fact that this was an All Blacks side coming together for the first time since their November Grand Slam triumph and next week's task in Auckland, pretty much a home banker when you're wearing black, resembles a Herculean task.
Buttressed by another week's camp, surely all the faultlines which emerged on Saturday cannot be retained for two successive matches.
And, for their part, will Ireland be able to maintain the intensity of their approach, particularly defensively and at the breakdown, for a full 80 minutes, never mind 60?
For all their apparently limited resources, the All Blacks still managed to make a stumble in this one with the dual openside experiment flopping badly, so much so that the normally circumspect Graham Henry openly admitted that the jury was still out on the ambitious experiment.
A debut second-row, Greg Rawlinson, was utterly ineffective and in midfield, too, a huge responsibility was placed on Aaron Mauger's shoulders, as he nursed out-half Luke McAlister through a nervy start, all the while trying to keep an eye on the enigmatic Ma'a Nonu outside, liable to spill the pill in attack or leave the door open in defence. Yet, despite all these nagging inconsistencies, the All Blacks still managed to win this one pulling away.
Or rather, to return to D'Arcy's pained view of things, they managed to thieve the win from under Ireland's noses.
Individual criticisms are often invidious in circumstances such as this but Peter Stringer and Paul O'Connell won't need to be reminded of their late faux pas; O'Connell emphatically so, with the hurried pass, meant for Shane Horgan, leading to Flavell's decisive score.
Nevertheless, the composed Stringer, who so adroitly ghosted down the Biarritz blindside just a few weeks ago, must surely regret his reckless kick into open field. Beneath his posts. With his side just a point down against the All Blacks? Suicidal stuff.
That it was replacement Troy Flavell who managed to benefit from Stringer's brainstorm is indicative of the manner in which the All Blacks deployed their bench at key stages, however envious one is of their endless supply of talent.
Ireland, unfortunately, are still reluctant to use the numbers allowed by the IRB to supplement the starting 15. It is a damning indictment of the unused replacements who continue to grow splinters on the Irish international bench that they are not deemed worthy of adequate, impactful game time. It is quite inconceivable why Geordan Murphy was allowed to remain on the field for 79 minutes before being replaced by Girvan Dempsey. One presumes that Murphy had been fulfilling the wishes of the management in what he admitted was a limited attacking approach on his behalf.
If not, the logic dictated that his replacement should have arrived much, much earlier than shortly after that lone, almost definitive daring break from his own half which led to the McAlister intercept. Alternatively, what does it say to Dempsey about the faith in his ability to alter the tempo of a game at such a crucial time?
Ditto the rest of the bench, a point forcefully emphasised by the delay in replacing a tiring David Wallace - who had just conceded a penalty - with a groundhog (Keith Gleeson) when a ball carrier was needed at that stage, as the All Blacks stepped up their own barrage of ball-carrying.
Sadly, there are players on this tour who would be better off sunning themselves in Tahiti as their value in terms of this summer's enterprise appears to be negligible unless there is some radical shift in emphasis this week.
One marvels at how McAlister's mental strength will have hardened in manifold ways as a result of Saturday's experience. In stark contrast, when Ronan O'Gara misfires, there is nobody on the bench to light a fire under him.
It is this comfort zone which allows the frequent lapses which creep into his performances to disappear into a worrying vacuum of almost desultory analysis. O'Gara is indubitably number one but wouldn't it be nice to see what his number two, or heaven forefend, number three look like?
Niall O'Donovan will hope his lineout work pays dividends once more next week, Brian McLaughlin will pat himself on the back after the exhaustive breakdown work, transcending forwards and backs, while the ultimate high fives will go Graham Steadman's way.
The defence coach has managed an utterly smooth transition since Mike Ford's departure.
That the All Blacks reverted to a mauling, close quarters battle, while also abandoning the flatness of their attack, concentrating on support behind the ball instead of risking offloads, was a measure of how they were forced to adapt to the immense defensive challenge presented to them.
In attack, though, Ireland struggled to make their mark. Until chasing the game, there was an element of sameness about the play, save the one occasion when Shane Horgan replicated his Leinster tactic by seeking work in midfield, taking a brilliant line which bamboozled the All Blacks.
Andrew Trimble, despite his fantastic finish and ceaseless defence, is uncomfortable on the wing.
D'Arcy might crave extra space. Dempsey is having the year of his life. Murphy may need to be shaken up a tad to produce his magic more regularly. Denis Hickie, unused on Saturday, is on tour. So too Gavin Duffy. And whatshisname? That Staunton fellah.
"I was happy with our attack but it was hard to do anything with limited ball," said O'Sullivan, before tying himself in knots when he admitted that All Blacks held on to the ball and Ireland didn't as the game entered its defining period.
With Shane Horgan's jaw merely bruised, only Alan Quinlan seems likely to force himself into the 22.
But Ireland should not only surprise their supporters, but themselves too, by showing some more fluidity in their back-line selection which just might keep these formidable All Blacks awake. Because they certainly won't start in a slumber two weeks running.
Originally Posted by beautifulrock
Bookmarks