New Zealand issued a warning to their Rugby World Cup rivals as they reached the tournament's semi-finals courtesy of a 46-14 win over Ireland in Tokyo on Saturday.
There was plenty of hype around this fixture as Ireland won two of the last three matches between these sides but, as the scoreline suggests, this encounter was all about the All Blacks, who dominated for long periods.
In the end, the world champions outscored their opponents by seven tries to two with Aaron Smith (2), Beauden Barrett, Codie Taylor, Matt Todd, George Bridge and Jordie Barrett all dotting down and Richie Mo'unga added 11 points after slotting four conversions and a penalty.
There was little positive to report for Ireland, who delivered an error-strewn performance and seldom threatened to create try-scoring opportunities. Their points came via a Robbie Henshaw five-pointer which was converted by Joey Carbery and they were also awarded a penalty try.
The All Blacks came out firing from the kick off and raced into a 10-0 lead inside 15 minutes after having a bulk of the possession and they also dominated the territorial stakes.
They opened scoring as early as the sixth minute courtesy of a penalty from Mo'unga and continued to dominate as the half progressed, with great interplay between their forwards and backs on show.
In the 14th minute, their pack set up a good platform deep inside Ireland territory with pick-and-goes — with Kieran Read, Joe Moody, Sam Whitelock and Sam Cane — prominent. Smith then made a sniping break through the middle of a ruck close to Ireland's try-line before diving over for the opening try.
The world champions made full use of the point-scoring opportunities presented to them and extended their lead in the 20th minute when their inside backs did brilliantly to create space for Sevu Reece, who joined the line at pace, which created an overlap. He offloaded to Bridge, who was stopped close to the try-line and from the ensuing ruck Smith, once again, barged over the whitewash from close quarters.
Mo'unga was successful with both conversions which meant the All Blacks were leading 17-0 and in the 32nd minute things went from bad to worse for Ireland when full-back Barrett crossed for his team's third try.
Ireland were initially on the attack close to the halfway line but aggressive defence from Reece saw Johnny Sexton spilling the ball which was booted upfield by Anton Lienert-Brown. Barrett then kicked ahead before collecting the ball on his way over the try-line and although referee Nigel Owens checked with his TMO to see if Lienert-Brown had played the ball from an offside position, television replays showed that Reece did not touch the ball after his hit on Sexton and the try was awarded.
Although Mo'unga was off target with the conversion attempt, New Zealand went into the half-time break in a confident mood as they held a commanding 22-0 lead.
FT at #RWCTokyo
An exceptional performance from the @AllBlacks with 7 tries against @IrishRugby
We have our first Semi-Final confirmed:@EnglandRugby 🏴 v @AllBlacks 🇳🇿#RWC2019 #NZLvIRE pic.twitter.com/0SnJ9VNy61
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 19, 2019
If Ireland wanted to stay alive in this contest they had to score first after the break but that wasn't to be as the All Blacks continued with their dominance.
In the 48th minute they went further ahead when Read ran a superb angle to gather a pass from Smith deep inside Ireland's half but although his progress was halted close to his opponents' try-line, the All Blacks skipper managed to free his arms before offloading to Taylor, who crashed over under the posts.
Ireland seemed shell-shocked by the intensity of the All Blacks' onslaught but although they tried desperately to fight back, they continued to commit numerous unforced errors.
The All Blacks did not take their foot off the pedal, however, and in the 61st minute Todd crossed for their fifth try after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.
Although New Zealand had the game sewn up by then, Ireland did not surrender and opened their account in the 69th minute courtesy of a try from Henshaw after collecting a pass from CJ Stander, who broke off the back of a scrum on New Zealand's five-metre line.
The world champions were not done yet and struck back with Bridge's try, after Ardie Savea and Dane Coles did well in the build-up.
Although Ireland were awarded a penalty try shortly afterwards, when Todd prevented Stander from scoring at close quarters, the world champions sealed their win and semi-finals berth when Jordie Barrett scored their seventh try in the game's dying moments.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Smith 2, B Barrett, Taylor, Todd, Bridge, J Barrett
Cons: Mo'unga 4
Pen: Mo'unga
Yellow Card: Todd
For Ireland:
Tries: Henshaw, Penalty try
Con: Carbery
New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Jordie Barrett
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gaüzère (France), Angus Gardner (Australia)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
As expected, this was an entertaining spectacle with both sides going at each other hammer and tongs for the full 80 minutes but, in the end, England's class shone through with their forwards laying a superb platform for their win.
Gregor Townsend’s men may have started on the front foot with Finn Russell going over, but the Brave Blossoms hit back superbly via Kotaro Matsushima, Keita Inagaki and Kenki Fukuoka.
It was a poor display from Warren Gatland’s men but they started well enough, going 7-0 ahead via Nicky Smith’s try. However, they struggled to get to grips with a feisty and energetic Uruguayan outfit. The 2019 Grand Slam winners conceded far too many penalties and Felipe Berchesi made no mistake off the tee to keep Los Teros in the contest at the interval.
In a topsy-turvy match, characterised by several unforced errors from both sides, the Pacific Islanders got better as the match progressed and eventually outscored the Eagles by four tries to three.
In an entertaining match, played at a fast pace, Ireland did well to dominate proceedings after Aki received his marching orders. This, for making contact with the head of Ulupano Seuteni with his shoulder in a tackle 10 minutes before half-time.
The Wallabies had 80 per cent of the ball in the first half but they could only muster a 10-3 advantage at the break following Nic White’s try and Matt Toomua’s penalty.
In a tough and uncompromising encounter which was characterised by brilliant attacking play and several brutal collisions, Fiji were competitive throughout but Wales proved too strong in the end and outscored the Pacific Islanders by four tries to three with Josh Adams leading the way with a hat-trick.
With a try bonus-point also achieved, the Scots claimed the required five points that sets up a mouth-watering clash with Japan on Sunday.
With their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals dashed after losing to England at the weekend, the Pumas were determined to bounce back with an improved effort and they did just that as they dominated most facets of play and eventually outscored the USA by seven tries to three.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair which was dominated by the Springboks from the kick off and they held a comfortable 47-0 lead at half-time.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a tightly contested affair and although France secured the result, Tonga finished stronger and eventually outscored them by three tries to two.
As expected this was a one-sided affair although the All Blacks battled to hit their stride and held a narrow 10-9 lead after 35 minutes before two late first-half tries gave them a 24-9 buffer at the break.
In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed throughout but the Brave Blossoms held a slight edge throughout and secured the win despite a brave effort from their opponents.
Los Pumas actually began the game well, going ahead via Benjamin Urdapilleta’s penalty, but Tomas Lavanini’s red card for a dangerous tackle changed the course of the encounter.
Australia were full value for their win as they held the upper hand for long periods and scored seven tries, but their discipline let them down as Adam Coleman and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto were both yellow carded for dangerous tackles.
Although the Springboks dominated for long periods, the complexion of the match changed in the 43rd minute when Italy’s Andrea Lovotti received a red card for upending Duane Vermeulen in a tackle and dumping him on his head.
It still wasn’t a convincing performance by the Irish, despite opening up a 21-0 lead at the interval via Rob Kearney, Peter O’Mahony and Rhys Ruddock tries.