Ireland claim historic series win over All Blacks

By Liam Napier

Slumping to their fourth loss from the last five tests, the All Blacks' crossroad has moved into a tailspin.

An inspired second-half comeback, where they scored three tries including a stunning 80-metre effort from Will Jordan to evoke thoughts of a miraculous turnaround, mitigated the damage, somewhat.

Yet the All Blacks were left to rue a disastrous first half performance that consigned them to a deep dark hole.

New Zealanders have grown largely accustomed to the comeback following the setback, but after last week's maiden home defeat to Ireland, the All Blacks lost their first July series of the professional era in Wellington.

Before the pitchforks and effigies emerge from the angry mob demanding coaching heads it is the height of ignorance to not first acknowledge Andy Farrell's world-class, intelligent, skilled Irish team that has expertly picked apart the All Blacks over the past two weeks.

The tourists fully deserve the recognition and acclaim coming their way. At the end of their long season this was a brutal five-match tour. Ireland emerged out the other side grinning from ear to ear and they are sure to celebrate in style.

For the All Blacks, though, the numbers don't lie. They are grim, in fact. Unwanted records keep mounting. This week there were no cards for the All Blacks to blame, either.

This is the first time in 24 years the All Blacks have lost successive home tests – John Hart's 1998 side the last team to endure such a run, and the first time since 1994 they've lost a home series.

Four wins from their past nine tests strongly suggests something is broken within this All Blacks team. The empire is crumbling. Something needs to change.

The wolves are at the door for Ian Foster, who now has a 16 from 24 record, and his coaching team.

With a two-test series in South Africa to follow, it does not get any easier from here.
Joe Schmidt's arrival for the Rugby Championship should help but the New Zealand Rugby board is now under huge pressure to enact meaningful change.

The mana, the legacy, of the All Blacks is being corroded with each passing defeat. This is just the sixth home series defeat in history.

Down 22-3 at halftime to leave 38,000 fans shellshocked, all looked lost for the All Blacks.

With an inspirational performance on his home patch Ardie Savea did his best to strap the All Blacks on his back and carry them to some semblance of a comeback.

Every time he touched the ball Savea got his legs pumping to provide rare punch – his try straight after halftime, when he twisted and spun to ground the ball over the line was but one example.

That was the belated spark the All Blacks desperately needed.

Ireland prop Andrew Porter's yellow card - that could easily have been red - in the 50th minute for an accidental head clash broke Brodie Retallick's cheekbone and further invited the All Blacks back into the contest. Akira Ioane was good enough to take the opening by barging through four defenders to score a brilliant individual try.

From a seemingly unwinnable position suddenly the All Blacks closed within five points. Jonathan Sexton increased Ireland's buffer only for Jordan to burst onto an inside ball from Savea and sprint 80 metres to score a magic try.

Hope sprung eternal. Then it was crushed. Rob Herring's lineout drive try after 64 minutes ultimately broke the fightback.

For the third week in a row the All Blacks started poorly, with the basic errors following them from Dunedin.

Ireland showed their hand from the outset by turning down a shot at goal to score from a lineout drive in the fifth minute. And the tourists were just warming up.

Irish fullback Hugo Keenan struck from a simple blindside switch which exploited an overlap and when Robbie Henshaw strolled through a gaping hole just before halftime, the Irish bench rose in jubilation. The All Blacks were properly rattled.

Through four lost lineouts in the first half, soft missed tackles and frequent handling errors the All Blacks were often the architects of their own demise.

Ireland defended superbly, sure, but frustration quickly set in for the All Blacks when they struggled to generate the desired penetration or secure quick ruck ball.

Beauden Barrett was pinged for an unnecessary ruck clearance and tighthead prop Nepo Laulala spilled the ball attempting to offload under his sticks. Panic had well and truly set in.

Composure returned in the second half but it was too late for the All Blacks.

As the losses mount, so will the deafening calls for change.

Ireland 32 (Josh van der Flier, Hugo Keenan, Robbie Henshaw, Rob Herring tries; Johnny Sexton 3 cons, 2 pens)

All Blacks 22 (Ardie Savea, Akira Ioane, Will Jordan tries; Jordie Barrett 2 cons, pen)

HT: 22-3

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission