Shambolic production and stuttering play made big rematch a real letdown
MY KIND OF TOWN: New Zealand fans celebrate late in the game. Pic: INPHO/Photosport/David Banks
High up in what All Blacks coach Scott Robertson had called ‘a cruise ship of a stand’ Shane Lowry was perched in a Soldier Field skybox. Alongside Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, both getting used to now being bystanders on these days, he took in the spectacle that was ‘The Rematch’, Ireland and New Zealand gathering again nine years after a historic Saturday at the same venue.
To sum up just how shambolic the spectacle was you’d confidently predict that, despite this autumn hearing the absolute worst they had to offer at the Ryder Cup, even Lowry would have felt sorry for the American sports fans in attendance.
We know these kinds of trans-Atlantic trips will rapidly become a staple of this time of year as rugby ticks towards a World Cup on American soil. Grow the game (and the bottom line) and all that. Bringing US fans into the tent is going to require a whole lot more execution than we saw at Soldier Field.
Off the field and on it there were myriad inexplicable issues that blighted the occasion as well as the Test match which tried to break out in bursts. Under the pitch too, actually, as the terrible surface was matched by production values which left those in the stands utterly lost as French referee Pierre Brousset and the rest of the officiating team spoiled the afternoon entirely and then didn’t have the decency, or specifically the audio tech, to tell the patrons why.
One of the more bizarre aspects was a stadium narrator, an American, who came and went, interjecting some of the time but not all with half explanations of a wretched Brousset call. At one point in the second half, as the All Blacks finally produced the one consistent spell that always threatened to decide things, the announcer was talking while play was ongoing.
It was, of course, the interminable wait over what most observers acknowledge was an atrocious red card call on Tadhg Beirne after just three minutes that set the tone for the production issues, stadium screens not showing replays and so Brousset et al eventually crowding around a sideline iPad. There should be many ways of introducing a game that is, for the outsider, as flummoxing and fussy as rugby. This wasn’t it.
The three minutes before that decision also set a tone for the 77 that would follow. This was a rematch that started and stopped so often it was a wonder that much fluency was found at all. A chaotic Ireland lineout malfunction within that period also pointed to what was to come — and count.
Ultimately, many staging issues can be compensated for if the performance of the two teams out there in the middle of the dusty bowl lived up to billing. Neither did. Robertson and the All Blacks had the comfort and satisfaction of knowing they did enough when it mattered.
For Andy Farrell, the cliff-fall of a closing quarter and the 13-point defeat which resulted stung badly. Issues which have bubbled for 12 months and more are now threatening to blight his second act with the national team. The set-piece spluttered, the attack produced a seven-year low in terms of line breaks, legs and discipline were lost as the All Blacks bench produced when Ireland’s didn’t. The rematch hadn’t produced a repeat of 2016 but instead 2024, when an autumn campaign got off to an equally worrying start and rarely picked up. This was a defeat from which Ireland must learn — and quickly.
"You have to. You need to be brutally honest because if you're not, then you're wasting an opportunity,” Farrell said, having taken a relatively diplomatic approach on the red card. “There's zero excuses from here on. I get all you guys talking, it's just common sense isn't it what you're talking about as far as match sharpness and the start of the season and all of that but that's been and gone now. We need to buckle down.” Farrell had seen his side navigate the 20 minutes when down to 14 men admirably. It’s striking that that was ultimately their best spell. The decision on 15 minutes to eschew a second penalty and instead kick of the corner was ballsy. The lineout was again ropey but they recovered and extended this one bright attacking spell, Jamison Gibson-Park’s passes blurring by All Blacks and finding Irish hands as Garry Ringrose, Dan Sheehan, the impressive Stuart McCloskey and Jack Conan all carried with power before Tadhg Furlong barrelled over.
After 17 minutes Ireland were 10-0 to the good. But they would be outscored 26-3 from there on, Ardie Savea’s rapid response getting the All Blacks on the board. Three points in 63 minutes of Test rugby is never going to cut it.
“[There were good patches of the game but it was similar [to the 2024 defeat] as in stop-start, a lack of flow. [It’s] not just one thing but a few things,” Farrell added. “As coaches, we'll be hurting and so will the players as well. We need to address all of that.” I
reland were 13-7 to the good around the hour mark when the atmosphere belatedly arrived, a rendition of the Fields of Athenry rolling around Soldier Field as Bundee Aki’s introduction got the crowd loud. With Caelan Doris having also joined the fray, this esteemed Irish bench may have been primed to see this out. Instead it was the lesser-heralded All Blacks reserves who helped decide it.
Having been so fitful and error-prone and lost two of their three Barrett brigade to injury, Robertson’s men found a gear change on 62 minutes and streamed clear. Farrell pointed to a critical offload from Jack Crowley to Jamie Osbourne that didn’t come off and the Munster out half being dragged down by the totemic Fabian Holland and pinged seconds later at the opposite end as key points. But as Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi and the very effective Cam Roigard ran in three tries in just 15 minutes, this rivalry which had blossomed since 2016 looked a whole lot more like the old days. Irish defences weren’t at all resilient, Ringrose guilty of a couple of bad misses but others too.
The performances of McCloskey, Ryan Baird and the composure of Osbourne and Tommy O’Brien in a changed backline brought some light. Farrell had some praise for Crowley but there were struggles too. “He'll be better for it,” the coach said.
Japan, Australia and South Africa await which means Eddie Jones, Joe Schmidt and Rassie Erasmus will have plenty to say in coming weeks. The actions rather than words of Farrell and Ireland hang heavily now. In a period when Leinster’s inability to meet the moment or close out what looks a close one has been all-too clear, that habit is becoming Ireland’s too.
"We know how important the autumn, particularly this next game now. It's about being honest with each other and making sure that we learn from that,” Farrell added. “You can talk about any type of journey. There's always going to be ups and downs. This is a good window to see where we're at. If that doesn't get us excited as a group, nothing will.”
Robertson’s post-match reflections were much more chipper. Before departing for a charter to Scotland, the final question came from a local journalist: “Coach, congratulations. Do you think we need a shot clock for the TMO?”
Perhaps the Americans did learn something.
Tries: Furlong, Pens: Crowley (1), Cons: Crowley (2)
: Tries: Savea, Williams, Sititi, Roigard. Cons: Barrett (3)
Jamie Osborne; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan (capt), Tadhg Furlong; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Iain Henderson for Beirne (23 mins); Caelan Doris for Ryan (33-40), for Conan (52); Bundee Aki for McCloskey (57); Rónan Kelleher for Sheehan (61); Finlay Bealham for Furlong (61); Craig Casey for Gibson-Park (68); Paddy McCarthy for Porter (68), Sam Prendergast for Crowley (68).
Red card: Beirne (3 minutes).
: Will Jordan; Leroy Carter, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Beauden Barrett, Cam Roigard; Ethan De Groot, Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell; Scott Barrett, Fabian Holland; Simon Parker, Ardie Savea, Peter Lakai.
Replacements: Josh Lord for S Barrett (3 mins); Leicester Fainga’anuku for J Barrett (17); Wallace Sititi for Parker (30-40 & 60); Tamaiti Williams for De Groot (48); Samisoni Taukei’aho for Taylor (65); Pasilio Tosi for Newell (65); Damian McKenzie for Carter (67); Cortez Ratima for Roigard (78).
: Pierre Brousset (Fra).
Attendance: 61,841
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