A spirited Irish team gave an inept New Zealand side a huge scare before going down 15-6 in the first of two Tests between the two countries at Carisbrook in Dunedin.
In the build-up to this Test the talk was that Ireland would be competitive in the first half with the All Blacks, fresh from a 64-10 win over Italy last week, coming into their own in the second stanza.
Well, the first half went according to plan -- with New Zealand leading 10-3 at the break -- but it was all Ireland in the second period, as the Men in (light) Green made the Men in Black fight until the bitter end for their 15th Test win over Ireland in 16 meetings.
Ireland, whose second-half performance was highlighted by aggressive defence, also showed a lot of courage on attack, but they were unable to breach the All Blacks' water-tight defence on a night that did not exactly produce a mistake-free game of rugby. In fact, the statistics after the match signalled over 20 knock-ons and over 40 turnovers.
Brian O'Driscoll tried every means possible -- using his pace, shimmies and boot -- but he never seemed to have enough support with the half-gap in sight.
Early in the first half O'Driscoll had one good chance when he got through a half-gap, which had been left open by his opposite number Tana Umaga, but the dreadlocked midfielder managed to turn around and catch his opponent before any damage was caused.
At that stage the score was 3-all, with flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens kicking a penalty and O'Driscoll adding a well-taken drop-goal in the first five minutes of the match, but it was New Zealand who scored the first try of the night.
The Irish scrum had pressurised the Kiwis all night, but when they got their first decent shove (in their own half) of the night, No.8 Scott Robertson peeled off the base of the scrum, fed Mehrtens, who hit a gap, before unleashing the speedy Doug Howlett for a fairly simple run-in to the tryline.
Mehrtens added the two points to Howlett's 11th Test try, and, at 10-3 after 35 minutes of play, the AB's had their tails up. Little did they know that it would be their final points in the game until the 77th minute, as O'Gara's first botched penalty attempt of the night signalled half-time.
The second half got off to a good start for the All Blacks with Chris Jack taking a superb catch from the kick-off, but it was the Irish who nearly scored the second try of the night when O'Driscoll chipped a ball to the right-hand corner only for Geordan Murphy to dot the ball down inches into touch.
The Kiwis attacked the Irish line soon afterwards, but they were thwarted by an intercept from Ireland blindsider Keith Gleeson after an audacious Aaron Mauger pass with numbers to burn on the outside.
Gleeson managed to find his support, which allowed Ireland to drive up-field and they were soon rewarded with a very kickable penalty, which O'Gara made no mistake with as he recorded his 200th Test point.
But O'Gara, who missed a shot at goal shortly after half-time, missed another penalty attempt in the 67th minute, which kept New Zealand four points ahead, before a late try gave them enough breathing space.
Jonah Lomu, who came on with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, was the star in the lead-up to that try after he chased a loose Irish pass in their 10-metre area, before picking it up and swatting some would-be defenders away.
Lomu charged ahead before finally being put to ground by Peter Stringer, but he was not held in the tackle and after jumping back to his feet he played the ball again, which gave Mauger enough time to chip the ball ahead to the Irish goalline where Leon MacDonald won the race for his third, and without a doubt the most important, Test try.
Mehrtens missed the conversion, but at 15-6, Ireland had to score more than once, something which they had been unable to do all night long.
In fairness, the All Blacks probably deserve a pat on their backs for keeping the Irish at bay and for using both their try-scoring opportunities, but key players like Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Reuben Thorne, Mehrtens, Aaron Mauger and Tana Umaga were not firing on all cylinders, suggesting, perhaps, that a long Super 12 season is finally beginning to take its toll.
For All Black coach John Mitchell a lot of hard work lies ahead, especially with a hungry Irish team waiting at Auckland's Eden Park next week.
Man of the match: In a forgettable evening for the All Blacks, very few of their players stood out. Young opensider Richard McCaw kept on trying and fullback Leon MacDonald did some good things on defence. For Ireland, two men stood out head-and-shoulders above the rest -- hooker Keith Wood and outside centre Brian O'Driscoll. Wood, for his massive work-rate, and O'Driscoll for his classy performance on attack and defence. In the end, our vote goes to O'Driscoll, who, besides making ground with every touch of the ball, also showed some amazing touches with his boot.
Moment of the Match: In the build-up to MacDonald's match-clinching try, Ireland scrumhalf Peter Stringer, the smallest man on the field at just under 70 kilograms, put in a brilliant front-on tackle on Jonah Lomu, who tips the scales at 112 kilograms. Yes, Lomu and his team-mates did recycle the ball and MacDonald went on to score a try, but Stringer's gutsy tackle -- a David v Goliath confrontation -- epitomised Ireland's never-say-die attitude. Stringer's act just beats Wood's touch-finder from first-phase ball earlier on in the match. Wood got the ball inside his own 10-metre area, took aim and landed it in New Zealand's 22 before it rolled into touch.
Villain of the Match: Perhaps it is a bit harsh, but our award goes to Ireland's flyhalf Ronan O'Gara for his poor goalkicking display. O'Gara's performance in open play was very encouraging, but he missed three fairly easy penalty kicks at goal. Those nine points could have made a huge difference in the end. O'Gara just beats his opposite number Andrew Mehrtens to this award. Mehrtens threw wild passes and took poor options, which, luckily for him, did not cost his side in the end.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves: Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson, Jonah Lomu
Unused: Marty Holah, Tom Willis, Byron Kelleher, Taine Randell
Ireland: 1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Justin Bishop, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 John Kelly, 14 Geordan Murphy, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves: David Humphreys, Malcolm O'Kelly
Unused: Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby, Paul Wallace, Mel Deane, Alan Quinlan
Attendance: 30200
Referee: Jutge j.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 1, MacDonald L.R. 1
Conv: Mehrtens A.P. 1, Umaga J.F. 1
Pen K.: Mehrtens A.P. 1
Ireland
Pen K.: O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Drop G.: O'Driscoll B.G. 1
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