Andy Farrell lauds character of Ireland team despite off-day against All Blacks

Ireland’s coach was also left perplexed at some of the officiating, but chose not to publicly criticise Australian referee Nic Berry

Ireland's Ciaran Frawley and Joe McCarthy after the 19-point to New Zealand at Eden Park. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady

Andy Farrell was left bitterly frustrated at his side’s error-strewn effort at Eden Park, but the Irish boss insists it’s not all bad news 14 months out from the World Cup and that they aren’t as far away as their heavy Nations Championship defeat to the All Blacks looks.

Ireland’s coach was also left perplexed at some of the officiating in Saturday’s 40-21 defeat, including the decision to only show All Blacks flanker Luke Jacobson a yellow card, but chose not to publicly criticise Australian referee Nic Berry.

“There's incidents all over the field tonight that you could talk about and we're not able to do that, so I'll pass on that one,” he said.

The decision to only show Jacobson a yellow card for his no-arms high cleanout on Josh van der Flier that hit the Irish No.7 directly in the head was just one of several big calls, with Berry also opting not to go to the pocket despite penalising Quinn Tupaea for a deliberate knockdown in the second-half.

Berry also penalised Ciaran Frawley for failing to release after finding space out wide in the All Blacks’ half despite the home side appearing to not release the ball-carrier on the ground. At the time, the All Blacks had just conceded a try and were only leading 35-21 in the 73rd minute.

The moment was one of two big turning points in the game, with Ireland previously being guilty of handing the All Blacks a try late in the first-half when the visitors tried to run the ball out of their territory after scoring but ended up offering up a gift try to Will Jordan.

“Obviously a big moment, that's for sure,” said Farrell, referring to the Jordan try in the 35th minute that saw the All Blacks take a 21-7 lead.

“I also think when Ciaran Frawley was going down the right wing here and he was turned over - how he was turned over, I don't know,” Farrell said.

“I thought that was a big moment as well because we're getting back in the game and there's a bit of flow coming to our game as well.

“There were a few of them, but the key is not being behind in the first place to make sure we're dealing with that first and foremost.” 

That factor – Ireland’s terrible handling and passing, particularly from the base of the ruck – wasn’t lost on Farrell, with the British and Irish Lions coach conceding they were well below par on a night that they were chasing history and a chance to end the All Blacks’ 32-year unbeaten streak that now stands at 53 Tests.

In total, Ireland made 15 turnovers, 13 of which came in the first-half, with Jamison Gibson-Park struggling to handle the ball cleanly on a night where the pitch was dry and the conditions marvellous for running rugby.

“These lads have not got it in them to give it up after a poor enough start, especially when things are not going our way, the flow of our game is not flowing for many different reasons, whether that be penalties conceded or uncharacteristic poor passing, whether it be into touch or intercept passing or whatever,” Farrell said.

“So the flow of our game never really got going, but how we stuck at it and kept on fighting is there for everyone.” 

Farrell didn’t necessarily single anyone out, but it was clear that he was referring to Gibson-Park.

Asked where “uncharacteristic” mistakes came from, Farrell said he wasn’t sure but added that it was vital that they learn from the performance ahead of next year’s World Cup in Australia.

“If you look back on it, some of our best ball players, that's why I say uncharacteristic really because it's something you don't see on a daily basis, or on a weekend either,” he said.

“But that's what big matches do to you and that's a lesson that's got to be learned, that's for sure.” 

Making the defeat all the more surprising was that Ireland’s setpiece was considerably stronger following the injection of Tadhg Beirne in the back-row.

Andy Farrell says Ireland showed character and fight at Eden Park, but made too many errors against a quality New Zealand side.

After an exciting Southern Hemisphere tour, the Ireland head coach says the squad must learn from the experience ahead of a huge 15 months.#VMSport… pic.twitter.com/5lO9FIygeU

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) July 18, 2026

Acting Ireland captain Dan Sheehan, who played his part and was strong at the setpiece all evening, didn’t sugarcoat his side’s shortcomings either.

“It was frustrating because I thought when we were getting our stuff right we were able to be quite productive and get up to pitch,” he said. “We scored some good tries, setpiece was good.

“Like Faz said, it was just some things that we didn't really see coming with uncharacteristic mistakes, discipline errors, which comes off the back of probably being a bit too desperate and trying to make things happen too much and you just get a bit edgy and over the line, and that's just lessons we need to take in.

“It's an overriding feeling, a bit frustrated because we were really pumped up coming into this game. The opportunity to play in Eden Park was one that I don't know if we'll ever get back. So it's frustrating that we didn't really get it all to come together there.

“I'm proud of the lads, I thought they stuck together really well over the last few weeks. Probably not the season that we really wanted. We saw the improvements at times, but if we want to be serious about going on and really pushing world rugby standards we need to be better.

“Going into the summer break now for us, obviously rest up, but we need to make sure we're reflecting properly and get ourselves in the right mindset to attack the next season. We have a bit of improving to do to get there.” 

Asked if he was confident they could overturn the heavy loss in time for next year’s World Cup, Sheehan was unequivocal in his belief that they could.

“Of course I am because the calibre of players we have here is unbelievable,” he said.

“The amount of experience we have, we just need to get it out of each other.

“It's not an easy process. We need to actually dig deep and people need to dig deep within themselves, and we need to dig deep as a group. We've just got to look forward to the challenge ahead. Like I said, massive year coming up, exciting times. We really just need to dig in.” 

Farrell added that they would seek clarification as to why Berry blew full-time despite the full-time hooter only sounding in the background after the ball had already gone into touch.

While Ireland couldn’t win the Test, the visitors were chasing a losing bonus point in the new Nations Championship tournament.

Asked if there was an explanation as to why they weren’t afforded the opportunity for one last play from the lineout, Farrell said they were at this point none the wiser.

“No,” he said. “We look at the screen. We know that there's a few seconds left. I don't know what the explanation is. We're chasing a bonus point. Hopefully we can get an answer.”