'A near shambles, Sexton's heirs looked rattled' - The scathing NZ media verdict on Ireland
NOVEMBER PAIN: Ireland players, from left, Cian Healy, Rob Herring, James Ryan, Ciarán Frawley and Joe McCarthy dejected after their side's defeat in the Autumn Nations Series match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
The penalty count, the respective handling errors, the turnover tally...there wasn't much that made easy reading for Andy Farrell and his Irish team when they trudged off the field after Friday night's meek surrender to New Zealand.
A test match tilt between the world's No.1 and No.3-ranked sides never really caught fire as a contest with Ireland particularly underwhelming when a slice of revenge for last year's World Cup exit to New Zealand was supposed to be on offer.
There wasn't much solace to be found for the head coach or his players as media outlets in both hemispheres reacted to the All Blacks' 23-13 triumph. Here's a rundown of how they reacted in the Land of the Long White Cloud...
In the , veteran columnist reflected on how Lansdowne Road fell quiet under the Friday night lights as the hosts spluttered.
"In a season where optimism has only flickered, a controlled, destructive and patient victory over the world’s best team has generated a powerful belief that the All Blacks are reawakening and are capable of consistent rather than sporadic brilliance," Paul wrote.
"Dublin, rated these days a tougher venue to win than Ellis Park, proved to be a happy rather than a haunting hunting ground for the All Blacks who produced a statement performance that was not as epic or as polished as the one they delivered to beat Ireland at the World Cup, but was just as important in the context of establishing the credentials of the respective coaching regimes.
"Winning in Dublin is proof that the All Blacks have not gone backwards in the last year and provides a basis to be confident that Scott Robertson’s side are building on the foundations left by Ian Foster."
Paul's stablemate at the , chief sports writer focused a little more on the shortcomings of the team which began the night atop the world rankings only to suffer an embarrassing fall.
"Amid the backdrop of sledging and bad blood, this contest wasn’t a memorable spectacle – more a grind of a grudge match," Napier wrote.
"Ireland, playing their first test since July, were rusty in an underwhelming performance. They lacked continuity with 21 basic handling errors disrupting their flow and frequent penalties – 13 to All Blacks’ five – proving costly. Missing 31 tackles didn’t help, either.
"Ireland have adopted the Zombie theme song ‘in your head’ but on this occasion they were their own worst enemies. The All Blacks, however, deserve credit for forcing those cracks."
meanwhile spared little in his analysis for Wellington's . He zeroed in on Ireland's issues at out half where neither Jack Crowley nor Ciaran Frawley found anything that looked like fluency.
"The All Blacks’ 23-13 win against Ireland was the home side’s first loss in Dublin for three years, but by the end the Irish were reduced to a near shambles," Cully wrote.
"Their famous attacking patterns looked tired and predictable, their heirs to Johnny Sexton looked rattled, their lineout was under pressure and they couldn’t impose themselves defensively against athletes such as Wallace Sititi, Jordie Barrett and Asafo Aumua.
"...The contrast with Ireland was stark. The reigning Six Nations champions were living off moments of inspiration provided by their Kiwi and Australian imports, and first Jack Crowley and then Ciaran Frawley had poor evenings in the playmaker position.
"Crowley’s Munster have suffered a stuttering start to the United Rugby Championship and he looked low on confidence, while Frawley’s hands deserted him.
"The whisper from Ireland is that Sexton, now involved with Ireland as a coach, actually has his eyes on Leinster youngster Sam Prendergast as his long-term successor."
, also writing for , gave a damning if familiar rundown of Irish failings.
"It was the All Blacks who dictated terms pretty much throughout, apart from a brief period either side of halftime when a Jordie Barrett yellow card invited Ireland back into the contest, as they snapped a 19-game home win streak for the men in green and produced their most significant result of year one under Robertson," he wrote.
"Ireland were disappointing, no doubt about that. And well below their best as they slumped to a second straight defeat to their Kiwi rivals. They created too few opportunities, conceded too many penalties, made too many errors and spent too much of the contest absorbing pressure, and too little applying it.
"Yes, the renowned Irish ruck pressure was there throughout, making for a difficult night for starting All Black halfback Cortez Ratima, but their normally crisp and accurate handling and strikeplay was well off their normal standard."
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