Nov 09,2024
After three and a half years unbeaten at home, Ireland were given a real lesson at Aviva Stadium by New Zealand, who completely shut down Andy Farrell's side in attack.
On a night of indiscipline and errors, here's how we rated the home side...
Hugo Keenan – 6
Like a lot of the Irish backline, he had very little opportunity to show what he could do on the ball, through no real fault of his own. Came up with a brilliant tackle to deny Mark Tele'a from scoring in the corner, but that will probably be forgotten since the All Blacks scored in the far corner moments later.
Mack Hansen – 6
Ireland’s poor attacking display meant he couldn’t get on the ball in dangerous positions, but did show neat hands early on to send Rónan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham down the touchline. His kick-chase was good, but will be frustrated not to get in for a late try after spilling Ciarán Frawley’s chip through midfield.
Garry Ringrose – 7
Defensively, Ringrose was excellent, and contributed to a good turnover in the first half when he put pressure on Cortez Ratima at the edge of a ruck, while he put in a superb shot on Rieko Ioane.
Bundee Aki – 6
Joint-top for carries with nine, but couldn’t have an effect on the game. It was a mixed bag overall, with two bad handling errors in the first half, but it was his relentless work, along with Lowe, that won a five metre scrum early in the second half, which contributed to the try.
James Lowe – 6
Like Aki, Lowe had good and bad moments. His late 50:22 gave Ireland a chance of launching a comeback, and he carried the ball nine times, while teaming up with Aki to win that five metre scrum before the try. Gave away a penalty for an arm around a neck at the ruck shortly after Ireland’s try, when it looked like momentum had been on their side.
Jack Crowley – 6
The only real mistake, as such, was a poor dropped pass under no pressure shortly before he came off, although the out-half played it relatively safe when he had the ball, using Bundee Aki outside him to gain ground, which New Zealand were ready for. Three out of three off the tee.
Jamison Gibson-Park – 7
Ireland’s most dangerous player in attack, and constantly looked to keep the tempo up, either through his kicking game it with the ball in hand. Made a great tackle to scamper back and drag down Damian McKenzie in the first half which led to an Ireland turnover. He wasn't error-free though, giving away a penalty for offside, and a free-kick at the scrum for delaying the put-in.
Andrew Porter – 7
Gave away one penalty at the scrum, which looked a harsh call, while he played more than 70 minutes, the norm for Porter. Came out firing early on with a big charge down of a box-kick, and logged a string carry in the lead-up to the Irish try.
Rónan Kelleher – 6
Didn’t look too rusty after his injury layoff, and was part of a cohort of Irish players who were making some powerful, low tackles in that first half, making 10 in total. Lineout is still an inconsistency though.
Finlay Bealham – 6
Had to play all but a minute of the game, with Tom O’Toole getting concussed just seconds after coming onto the pitch. Locked out the scrum well on his side, and logged eight tackles, but gave away two penalties for not rolling away, each of whih was kicked for points by Mckenzie.
Joe McCarthy – 6
Made ten tackles, three of which were dominant, but gave away an important penalty which McKenzie kicked to tag on three points. Still needs to pack a bit more punch into his carrying.
James Ryan – 7.5
Along with Van der Flier, Ireland’s best forward. Didn’t take a backwards step, making 17 tackles and winning two turnovers. Huge work rate.
Tadhg Beirne – 6
New Zealand did a good job of limiting his impact around the breakdown, and he couldn't get into his usual flow. Logged 14 tackles on defence, but gave away a penalty for a high grab on Ardie Savea
Josh van der Flier – 7.5
Was the best Irish player in the first half, and contributed to two turnovers won, while he put in eight carries and 12 tackles. Showed great power to force his way over for Ireland’s only try.
Caelan Doris – 6
Made nine carries but only one of those really sent Ireland on the attack, leading up to Jordie Barrett’s yellow card, while he put up 11 tackles on defence.
Selected replacements:
Rob Herring – 6
Came on when Ireland were leading by a point with 23 minutes to go and was active on both attack and defence, with nine carries and tackles combined, but poor ball protection gave New Zealand a penalty in the 22 as Ireland went chasing the game
Iain Henderson – 6
On the plus side, he was constantly looking for the ball when he came off the bench, and while he had two knock-ons, both were the result of poor passes rather than poor handling. Would have been at a 7 for impact, but loses a point for a penalty which allowed the All Blacks go five ahead.
Ciarán Frawley – 5
Came on when Ireland were in need of a spark, but it was a tough night for the out-half. A high bullet of a pass to Henderson was spilled, while he had two knock-ons under very little pressure. Will hope to get back on the pitch as soon as possible to right those wrongs.
Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Jamie Osborne not on long enough to be fairly rated.
