Ireland suffered their eighth Rugby World Cup quarter-final elimination in their history, as New Zealand beat them in a Parisian epic.
A ruthless New Zealand side broke Ireland’s hearts again in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, as the All Blacks prevailed 28-24 at the Stade de France in Paris.
In a thrilling first half, the All Blacks took a 13-0 lead thanks to a try from Leicester Fainga’anuku and the boots of Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett, but Ireland recovered well to reduce the lead. The halftime gap was just one point at 18-17.
Ireland’s Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park scored tries in this opening period – either side of an Ardie Savea try for New Zealand and an Aaron Smith sin for a deliberate knock-on – as Andy Farrell’s side fought back, but their inability to kick inside the 22 proved a major factor as Will Jordan brought the All Blacks back to two scores ahead with a test in the second half.
Ireland – Tries: Aki (27), Gibson-Park (39), Penalty Try (64). Cons: Sexton (29, 40). Pens: Sexton (22).
New Zealand – Tries: Fainga’anuku (19), Savea (33), Jordan (53). Against: Mo’unga (21 years old), J Barrett (54 years old). Pens: Mo’unga (8), J Barrett (14, 69).
Ireland responded again as their pack forced a penalty try when Codie Taylor brought down a rampaging rolling maul, with Taylor also being sin-binned for the act. But the men in green failed to score against all 14 players, suffering another agonizing elimination in the round of 16.
Mo’unga gave New Zealand an early 3-0 lead and, despite several key chances from Ireland in the 22nd minute, the All Blacks then blew up the scoreboard in the 19th minute with a superb counter-attack attempt on the left.
Beauden Barrett created it by chipping and collecting, before Jordie Barrett, Fainga’anuku and Rieko Ioane connected superbly, the latter offloading beautifully inside for Fainga’anuku to score.
New Zealand’s Leceister Fainga’anuku scored the first try of the match
Mo’unga converted brilliantly to make it 13-0, but Johnny Sexton finally got Ireland on the scoreboard after a cheap penalty for blocking.
In the 27th minute, Ireland – fueled by the scintillating feet of Mack Hansen – played with the advantage from the penalty spot before Aki scored a superb solo try.
Ireland’s Bundee Aki responded with a brilliant solo run and score
The Irish lineout continued to falter, however, as, after losing another free kick, New Zealand produced a 50:22 and scored their second try through Savea, a quick ball in the 22nd paving the way for a dive in the corner.
Mo’unga struck wide with the conversion to leave the All Blacks leading by eight, but scrum-half Smith was sin-binned four minutes from half-time.
Ardie Savea’s try in the corner came at a crucial time for the All Blacks, just after Ireland had fought back.
After an Irish attack was illegally stopped, Ireland showed courage to kick again in the corner, from where Gibson-Park shot and reached to score superbly.
Ireland, however, continued to waste chances despite being well placed, their first three attacks in the 22 of the second half each coming to nothing as the All Blacks defended vigorously.
Jamison Gibson-Park scored Ireland’s second try as half-time approached, but they wasted numerous other chances
The glaring difference in cruelty was then laid bare when Mo’unga and Jordan cut through the heart of the Irish defense to score a try from a lineout in their own half.
Jordie Barrett scored the touchline conversion for a two-point lead at 25-17, and Ireland then lost key man Hansen to injury, before Sexton should have reduced the deficit to five points via a penalty, but hit poorly.
Ireland continued to play in the New Zealand half and, in the 64th minute, the pack sprinted forward for a penalty try which resulted in Taylor being yellow carded, giving Ireland a golden chance in the last quarter. However, New Zealand were next to score, as Jordie Barrett scored to take a four-point lead.
Aki forced a breakdown penalty within moments, and although the Irish maul once again rumbled forward, Ronan Kelleher was held back terribly as he dived towards the line.
The All Blacks defense held strong in the second half to secure the victory.
Caelan Doris then struck on the goal line to compound the error, with Taylor’s sin-bin running out without Ireland scoring.
Farrell’s men made one last effort over the course of more than 30 phases until New Zealand’s 22, but they narrowly failed.
Sexton: I’m very proud of the boys and the nation | “We couldn’t have done more”
Ireland captain Sexton told ITV Sport after the match…
“I’m very proud of the boys. Proud of the nation, of the country, we really couldn’t have done more.
“The margins are good, they hit us on a few tries and we had to work really hard on our tries, that’s what champions do.
“Fair play to them, they’re an awesome team. It’s amazing, these last six weeks have been a dream. This group, these fans and I are just gutted we couldn’t do it for them.
“You have to work hard to get a fairytale ending, we didn’t get there and that’s just life.
“We left nothing to chance, we ticked all the boxes, dragged the house down. I thought after a pretty slow start we played well tonight.
“Fair play to the All Blacks, they are a very good team and well coached.”
New Zealand head coach Ian Foster said after the match…
“It was a huge game between two teams who were desperate for a result and they are an incredibly proud team with an incredible record heading into this one.
“But the quarter-finals are about knockout rugby and we’ve been there before and we know we were going to have to dig within ourselves, we did that and I couldn’t be more proud.
“Pretty important, right? (Barrett holding Kelleher over the try line). He got underneath and it’s a game of close margins. Our defense was particularly strong during most of the match.”
And after?
The defeat means Ireland advance to the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the eighth time in their history and have yet to reach the World Cup semi-finals. They come out on top of Pool B after victories against Romania, Tonga, South Africa and Scotland, before losing to the All Blacks as they did four years ago in Japan .
The victory sees New Zealand qualify for the World Cup semi-finals for the ninth time in their history and will face Argentina at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday October 20 (8 p.m. kick-off BST).