Ireland secure historic victory over Māori All Blacks

By Liam Napier

More history for Ireland. This time their first triumph against the Māori All Blacks.

That's two pieces of history in four days, with this result following Ireland's maiden success against the All Blacks in New Zealand making quite the statement.

Anyone in these parts still doubting Ireland's quality or depth will be forced to sharply reconsider.

In stark contrast to their 32-17 defeat in Hamilton two weeks ago, Ireland's second stringers frustrated Clayton McMillan's Māori in Wellington through defensive starch and breakdown pressure, with openside Nick Timoney having a field day over the ball.

This turnaround from Ireland's midweek team represents a major milestone. Handing the Māori just the third defeat from their last 31 internationals speaks to the pride the locals have in their jersey and performance.

That Ireland had to twice overcome yellow cards and come back from an early try underlines the tenacity of their effort away from home.

Whether this victory, in their fourth match against the Māori, carries a positive omen for Andy Farrell's test side this weekend at the same venue remains to be seen but it is certain to further enhance the buoyant mood in the tourists' camp.

"The mood is good anyway," Farrell said. "It does help when you win but it's all about improving, performance, togetherness and growing as a group. We've said all along this is like five test matches for us. The lads don't get a test cap for playing against the Māori All Blacks but it's certainly a test match as far as we viewed it."

The Māori had ample ball and created more than enough chances, only to consistently squander those through handling errors in the face of scrambling Irish defence and a problematic set piece.

While both teams claimed four tries, the Māori refusal to kick and determination to run from everywhere in challenging conditions was also exposed at times.

McMillan lamented that lack of balance and the drawn series but hoped his men showed enough to secure future headline fixtures such as these.

"We're disappointed because wanted to win two games,"McMillan said. "We thought that would be great for Māori rugby. We're continually fighting for our space in a congested international window. The opportunity to play tier one nations doesn't come around often.

"We saw this as a great chance to showcase Māori rugby and two wins would've applied a little bit of pressure on those who make decisions to find us more games like this. Hopefully they've seen enough from a young talented squad to keep pushing for that tier one nation opposition."

Ireland led 17-5 at halftime and, through Ciaran Frawley's boot, extended that advantage to 15 points early in the second half.

The Māori attempted to mount a comeback, reviving the contest when Jordan Larmour tackled Connor Garden-Bachop without the ball, leading to a yellow card and penalty try.

Ireland put the squeeze on again, though, with Gavin Coombes crossing from close range to regain the 15-point buffer.

Ruben Love injected late spark off the bench from fullback to narrow the margin but a forgettable night off the tee from Josh Ioane contributed to the loss.

Two yellow cards for the Māori - to Chiefs prop Ollie Norris and wing Shaun Stevenson, who otherwise injected himself admirably into the match – stunted hopes of a comeback.

The Māori started well, with the elusive Stevenson - their best on the night - scoring from a slick lineout set move after three minutes.

From there, though, the Māori struggled to convert pressure into points.

Despite largely controlling possession, their discipline and sloppy skills in the wet conditions consistently let them down within striking range. They were repeatedly pinged for side entry at the ruck, while a number of passes went to ground.

From one such occasion, when a wayward pass went into touch, Ireland caught the Māori napping from a quick lineout, with Larmour running away to score his first try almost untouched.

Even when Ireland blindside Cian Prendergast was yellow carded for not retreating from a quick tap, the Māori failed to capitalise after botching their lineout five metres out from the line.

Ireland had success contesting the breakdown, slowing the Māori ball and frustrating veteran halfback TJ Perenara. This gave their defence time to reset and hold firm in the face of regular attacking raids.

While reduced to 14 men, Ireland managed to work their way downfield and pepper the Māori line. Norris was sent to the sin bin for killing a threatening rolling maul and Timoney scored one phase later to secure a healthy halftime lead.

Counter-punch tries to Love and Brad Weber off the bench changed the complexion of the scoreboard but the final margin ultimately flattered the Māori.

Ireland 30: Jordan Larmour 2, Nick Timoney, Gavin Coombes tries; Ciaran Frawley 2 cons, 2 pens.

Māori All Blacks 24: Shaun Stevenson, Ruben Love, Brad Weber tries, penalty try; Josh Ioane con

HT: 5-17

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