Ruthless New Zealand punish Ireland to claim back-to-back victories

New Zealand enjoyed back-to-back wins in the Autumn Nations series with a 23-13 victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.

Damian McKenzie kicked 18 points as the All Blacks condemned their opponents to a first defeat in 20 home matches.

McKenzie and Jack Crowley exchanged kicks during a cagey first half, at the end of which Ireland were handed a numerical advantage when Jordie Barrett was sin-binned for a high tackle on Garry Ringrose.

Andy Farrell’s side capitalised early in the second half as Josh van der Flier touched down within four minutes of the restart.

However, back to full-strength, New Zealand soon regained their advantage, with McKenzie kicking them into an 18-13 lead.

The All Blacks then increased their advantage to 10 points and subsequently put the game beyond Ireland 10 minutes from time, neatly working the ball from side to side before an unmarked Will Jordan crossed the line.

On home soil, Ireland had not looked back since losing to France during the 2021 Six Nations, going on to win each of their next 19 matches.

However, an uncharacteristic combination of handling errors and a high penalty count saw New Zealand prove to be their nemesis once more.

The All Blacks prevailed in their most recent encounter at last year’s World Cup, and came out on top once more this time around.

Their metres gained tally was more than double that of Ireland (459-202), who conceded 13 penalties and missed 30 tackles during the 80 minutes.

Successful with six of his eight attempts, McKenzie’s kicking ultimately proved the difference between the sides.

It was a very impressive display by the fly-half, who beat the most defenders (six) and produced the most offloads (four) over the 80 minutes, while no player gained more metres (90, level with Jordan).

Ireland: Keenan 6, Hansen 7, Ringrose 7, Aki 6, Lowe 7, Crowley 7, Gibson-Park 8, Porter 7, Kelleher 7, Bealham 7, McCarthy 7, Ryan 6, Beirne 7, Van der Flier 8, Doris 7.

Replacements: Herring 6, Healy N/A, O’Toole 6, Henderson 6, O’Mahony 6, Murray N/A, Frawley 6, Osborne 6.

New Zealand: Jordan 8, Tele’a 7, Ioane 7, J. Barrett 7, Clarke 6, McKenzie 9*, Ratima 7, Williams 7, Aumua 8, Lomax 7, S. Barrett 7, Vaa’I 7, Sititi 7, Cane 7, Savea 8.

Replacements: Bell N/A, Tu’ungafasi 6, Tosi 6, Tuipulotu 6, Finau 6, Roigard 6, Leinert-Brown 6, Perofeta N/A.

22’ GOOD TACKLE: New Zealand push again with McKenzie leading the charge. The fly-half has Tele’a for support but, before he can offload, Gibson-Park makes a superb tackle to stop him in his tracks. The All Blacks’ momentum is then halted further by a knock-on that allows Ireland to regain possession.

40’ PENALTY! IRELAND 6-9 NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand are reduced to 14 men with Jordie Barrett sent to the bin after catching Ringrose with his shoulder during a high tackle. Crowley subsequently halves the deficit with the final kick of the first half.

44’ TRY! IRELAND 13-9 NEW ZEALAND (VAN DER FLIER): Ireland’s bright start to the second half culminates in Van der Flier touching down. From a tight angle, Crowley impressively converts five points into seven.

70’ TRY! IRELAND 13-23 NEW ZEALAND (JORDAN): Breathing space for the visitors, who superbly work the ball from left to right and back. Aumua is found and offloads to the unmarked Jordan, who can charge to the line. McKenzie cannot convert, as he pulls his attempt wide of the posts.

Ireland suffered their first defeat in 20 home matches since losing to France during the 2021 Six Nations

Will Jordan scored his 37th try for New Zealand. That moves him joint-eight and level with Rieko Ioane and the great Jonah Lomu on his country’s all-time list