Ireland A’s brave show not enough

New Zealand Maori 27 Ireland A 6

The final scoreline paints a distorted picture, as the Maori were 15-6 up with only six minutes left on the clock. Had Paddy Wallace scored two penalties in the 49th and 60th minutes, the margin might have been narrower. However, ill-discipline crept in during the last 10 minutes when first Roger Wilson was red carded, and a minute later, Jamie Heaslip and two New Zealanders were yellow-carded. The Maori then ran in two late tries.

In the first five minutes Ireland put down a marker. First a rolling maul saw Jono Gibbes infringe but Ireland ran the penalty, though the Maori survived after a careless knock-on.