New Zealand produced an incredible performance to beat Ireland 28-24 in a thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
It was a quite phenomenal game in Paris as the underdog All Blacks dug in to keep Ireland out in the closing stages after a breathtaking multi-phase attack.
Earlier, New Zealand tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ardie Savea and Will Jordan were built on by Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett’s extras off the tee.
Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park scored for Ireland and that was added to by a second-half penalty try, Johnny Sexton kicking seven points for his side.
A devastating defeat in Saint-Denis halted Ireland’s remarkable winning run at 17 matches, while signalling the end of the career of veteran captain Sexton.
Ireland came into a mouthwatering contest in the unfamiliar position of being marginal favourites.
Following a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of Friday’s school attack in the northern French city of Arras, Ireland’s raucous travelling fans drowned out the Haka with a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry.
Yet New Zealand shrugged off the hostility and a few nervy mistakes in the opening minutes to lead through early penalties from Mo’unga and Barrett.
Ireland had repelled 30 phases in the build up to the first of those kicks but, despite plenty of possession, were struggling to fully find their usual attacking fluidity.
Ian Foster’s men had no such issues and duly increased their lead when wing Fainga’anuku ― playing instead of Mark Telea, who was dropped for a disciplinary breach ― exchanged passes with Rieko Ioane to finish a flowing team move on the left.
Ireland were quickly staring down the barrel of another last-eight exit to add to seven previous ones.
A routine Sexton penalty eventually got them up and running on the scoreboard before Aki superbly evaded five failed tackles to touch down and significantly cut the deficit against the country of his birth.
However, as the tide threatened to turn, the All Blacks were not about to roll over.
With five minutes of the half remaining, Savea dived over on the right to shift the momentum of a helter-skelter encounter back in favour of the southern hemisphere side.
Resilience is a major facet of Farrell’s Ireland and they emerged from an intense opening period just a single point behind.
In the aftermath of Aaron Smith’s temporary departure due to a deliberate knock-on, Gibson-Park brilliantly wriggled over from a line-out maul and Sexton again added the extras to leave the contest tantalisingly poised.
New Zealand were doing a decent job of keeping Ireland at arm’s length.
They again stretched the scoreboard in the 54th minute when the impressive Mo’unga exploited a gap between Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan following a line-out to burst forward and send the jet-heeled Jordan darting for the right corner for a 25-17 advantage.
Ireland suffered another setback when Sexton skewed wide with a three-point attempt at the posts. However, five minutes they were celebrating being awarded a penalty try as Codie Taylor collapsed a maul and was sin-binned.
The moment that sealed the win for the All Blacks! 🙌#RWC2023 #IREvNZL pic.twitter.com/iXWGEx6rZ2
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 14, 2023
Barrett missed a penalty but landed another to keep the scoreboard ticking over for the All Blacks going into the anxious final stages.
Ireland desperately pushed for a late twist but ultimately ran out of steam to suffer a first defeat since the opening match of last summer’s stunning Test series victory in New Zealand, leaving a distraught Sexton heading for retirement.
The teams
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Jimmy O’Brien
New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
In a gripping last-eight clash, it was Los Pumas who came out on top thanks to an impressive second half that saw them grab two tries among their 23 points.
It was an historic first ever tournament win for Os Lobos as a frantic finish saw them come out on top thanks to a late converted try at Stadium de Toulouse.
The result was a momentous one as it means Los Pumas advance to the global showpiece's quarter-finals as the runners-up in Pool D ― behind table-toppers England ― while the Brave Blossoms' campaign has come to an end after finishing third in the group.
After defeats to Ireland, Scotland and South Africa, victory will taste sweet for the 'Ikale Tahi as they finish in fourth spot in Pool B ahead of the Romanians.
It was a ruthless performance from the top ranked team in global rugby as Ireland ran in four tries in the first period and two more after the interval.
Samoa will rue not coming out on top in a match they should have won but Care's 73rd minute crossing, converted by Owen Farrell, decided the result.
Louis Rees-Zammit crossed the try-line on three occasions while Tomas Francis, Liam Williams and George North also scored as they made it four wins out of four.
Tries from Damian Penaud (two), Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Thomas Ramos, Matthieu Jalibert, Peato Mauvaka and Yoram Moafana (two) helped Les Bleus to victory.
Los Teros were impressive in the opening quarter and almost took the lead through Manuel Ardao but, after Damian McKenzie touched down, the All Blacks cut loose.
The maximum haul puts the Springboks on 15 points at the end of their pool campaign, with rivals Ireland (14) and Scotland (10) set to face off next weekend to determine who finishes first, second and third in the toughest group of this year's tournament.
The five-point haul in Saint-Etienne puts the Wallabies one point ahead of Fiji in Pool C, but crucially the islanders still have one fixture to play next week.
Darcy Graham was no doubt the standout player, lighting up the game with four tries and a number of other thrilling surges during the match.
The Pacific Islanders needed a win with a try bonus-point over the Lelos to make sure of their place in the last-eight, but they could only touch down two times.
It was a day to remember for fly-half Nicolas Sanchez who became the second centurion for Argentina, following in the footsteps of Agustin Creevy. Fittingly it was the veteran playmaker who opened the scoring with a ninth-minute try.
A grand total of 14 tries were chalked up by a rampant All Blacks outfit, who seem in ominous form since their opening night defeat to host nation France.
With Argentina expected to claim five points against Chile over the weekend, the Brave Blossoms will then face Los Pumas in a winner-takes-all showdown.
The win puts the South Americans level on points with New Zealand in Pool A, who they face next Thursday, although the All Blacks have a game in hand.
Wales were outstanding as 23 points from replacement fly-half Anscombe, who came off the bench after Dan Biggar's injury on 12 minutes, floored Australia.
The maximum haul puts the Scots on five points ahead of facing Romania before their Pool B campaign ends with a mouth-watering match against Ireland.
It was a captivating 80 minutes at the Stade de France as both sides threw everything at each other, with the Irish prevailing against the 2019 champions.