All Blacks Break Irish Hearts

Ireland’s rugby team was snatched victory in the final seconds at the hands of the All Blacks on Sunday afternoon. The men in green were 30 seconds away from possibly the biggest win in their history, but had it cruelly taken away from them with a converted try from the New Zealanders in the last play of the game, at the Aviva Stadium.

The start was immense from the Irish. Tries in the first half from Conor Murray, Rory Best and Rob Kearney gave Ireland a 19-0 lead inside 30 minutes. What was most impressive about this half hour was the fact that the Kiwis rarely got into the Irish 22. It was at that moment that the team, and the fans, dared to dream about beating the All Blacks for the first time in history.  

But there is a reason that the All Blacks are World champions as well as the number 1 ranked team in the world. They pulled a try back before half time through Julian Savea, which left the score at half time 22-7 going into the break.

However, the second half was dominated by the All Blacks and a try from Ben Franks as well as a penalty from Aaron Cruden put them within 5 points of the Irish. It was not to be for the Irish in the end as an exhausted defensive outfit leaked a converted try, scored by Ryan Crotty, in the last play of the game, to break Irish hearts.

The devastation in the eyes of the Irish players at the final whistle is something that will live long in the memory. Yet the performance of the Irish in all aspects of the game is something that they can be very proud of. They showed aggression in the tackle, as well as this the execution of attacking plays was exemplary. This was a truly memorable performance.

When looking at this game one thing is abundantly clear, Ireland lacks consistency. If you compare this performance against the Kiwis to the showing against Australia, it is a drastic improvement. On their day, Ireland can compete with the best in the world, but that one off performance is not enough to become a world class outfit. These performances need to be seen on a more consistent basis.

Next up for Ireland will be the Six Nations, and it could well be the most highly contested tournament for years. Strong showings from England and Wales this calendar year as well as a strong performance from Ireland in the autumn tests, bodes for a competitive Six Nations. The first test for Ireland is Scotland, where they will be hoping to get early points on the board.