It seems fitting that the latest instalment between Ireland and New Zealand has a night all to itself next Friday. Even on the official Six Nations website they are moved to ask if this is rugby’s favourite grudge match. If so, it wasn’t always thus. It was not much of a rivalry, never mind one tinged with any kind of grudge.
How could it be when one side never won in 28 attempts going back over 111 years?
True, Ireland rattled the All Blacks’ cage on several occasions. After Tom Grace’s try made it 10-10 at the old Lansdowne Road in 1973, Barry McGann missed a touchline conversion to win the game. Five years later, in a tense game at the same venue, Andy Dalton scored an injury-time try to earn New Zealand a 10-6 win.
Ireland threatened a shock win in 1992 at Carisbrook when Vinny Cunningham scored two tries before the All Blacks prevailed by 24-21. Ireland led 21-7 early in the second half at Lansdowne Road in 2001 before five second-half tries earned the visitors a pulsating 40-29 win, with a 20-year-old Richie McCaw man of the match on his debut.
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In 2012, Ireland were denied a shot at goal to win the game by a questionable Nigel Owens scrum penalty and ensuing drop goal by Dan Carter, one of just eight among the great man’s 1,598 points, sealed another New Zealand win. In 2013, after another questionable penalty by Owens for latching against Jack McGrath, only Ryan Crotty’s try in the last play of the game and Aaron Cruden’s retaken conversion earned New Zealand a 24-22 win at the Aviva Stadium to cap their unbeaten year.
When did the All Blacks lose their aura?
More often than not, as Joe Schmidt would suggest in the wake of the breakthrough win in 2016, those close shaves also served to “poke the bear”. It was as if each near Irish miss was a reminder to every All Blacks player that a historic loss dare not be on his watch.
In 1992, a week after Carisbrook, New Zealand won 59-6 in Wellington. Ireland’s near miss in 2012 in Christchurch became a footnote in history within a week as a result of the Hamilton Horror Show, when Paddy Wallace was summoned from the beach to face a rampant Sonny Bill Williams and everything that could go wrong for Ireland duly did as the All Blacks won 60-0.
That is the record-winning margin in the history of the fixture but there were plenty of other embarrassing days for Irish teams, as when outclassed 63-15 and 45-7 at Lansdowne Road in 1997 and 2005, or when beaten 66-28 in Yarrow Stadium in 2010 or 42-12 in Eden Park a couple of years later.
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It is hardly any wonder, therefore, some All Blacks’ players and members of their media or former players turned pundits weren’t exactly convincing when expressing their respect for Ireland. This usually entailed platitudes concerning Ireland’s commitment and spirit, and one was often tempted to ask some of them if they could name a player other than Brian O’Driscoll.
Ahead of this Friday’s meeting though, the Six Nations website goes so far as to assert: “It’s hard to argue against this fixture being the most electrifying rivalry in rugby today. Once a match defined by New Zealand’s dominance, the Ireland v All Blacks saga has transformed into a series of grudge matches filled with breathtaking tries, controversies, and a fair amount of animosity.”
The article also cites Ireland’s breakthrough triumph in Chicago in 2016 as the start of the modern rivalry, although in many respects it can probably be traced to that near miss three years earlier. Granted it was a much-changed Irish side three years on, albeit eight of the 23-man squad pitched up again. But although it was the most heartbreaking loss of all to the All Blacks, it fuelled the belief and desire that resurfaced in Soldier’s Field three years later. Some of the All Blacks’ thuggery in their vengeful mission to Dublin a fortnight later would not be tolerated now and one senses it came at a cost to their image hereabout.
Even so, it is remarkable to think that the All Blacks had won 22 meetings in succession before that sunny day in Soldier Field and that Ireland went into the game as 12-1 underdogs to win. That will surely never be the case again, and as the home side and ranked number one in the world, Ireland are 4-9 favourites against the team ranked third. Yikes.
But Ireland have now won five of the past nine, and Soldier Field has been eclipsed by two wins in the Aviva and a historic series comeback win in New Zealand. Admittedly, the All Blacks will claim that they have won the two most important ones in this sequence, namely two World Cup quarter-finals.
Cue Rieko Ioane’s comments to Johnny Sexton in the immediate aftermath, as revealed by the retired Irish captain in his biography Obsessed: “Don’t miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you c**t.”
Sexton adds: “So much for the All Blacks’ famous ‘no d**kheads’ policy. So much for their humility. I walk after Ioane and call him a fake-humble f***er. It doesn’t look great, me having a go at one of them just after we’ve lost. But I can’t be expected to ignore that.”
The All Blacks’ centre has since doubled down by posting a picture of the pair from last year’s quarter-final on social media with a joker card above Ioane’s head and a house emoji below the now-retired Sexton, to the backdrop of Zombie.
Perhaps Ioane’s attitude reflects some of that old superiority complex, but it should add another frisson of atmosphere next Friday night. One hopes Sexton is there in his capacity as a consultant to the Irish outhalves and the cameras and big screen identifies him. If the truth be told though, Sexton should buy Ioane a pint or two for ensuring additional book sales.
Of course, they can be particularly sensitive in the land of the long white cloud to any critiques of the cherished All Blacks and its brand, and love a perceived sleight or two, whether real or imagined. One can only imagine the indignant and inordinate reaction to Joe Marler’s comments about the haka, despite his ensuing apology.
But hey, as this column always says, any prematch pageant that can provoke an Irish crowd to be in their seats well before kick-off is worth preserving.
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