Ireland v New Zealand match thread

That wraps up the three game series I just invented in my head.

Cmod Note:

Right, that's it, I'm closing the rugby forum, having it encased in platinum and preserved for ever on the top of mount Everest...

What a fúcking awesome game!!!

OK Steve, breathe... breathe...

:D:D

Such a well deserved win. And what a fantastic ref.

Who was MOTM?

clsmooth wrote: »

Who was MOTM?

POM of the match was awarded to POM

clsmooth wrote: »

Who was MOTM?

POM officially but could have been any one of 7 or 8

Stander VDF Ryan Toner Aki all top class

clsmooth wrote: »

Who was MOTM?

POM. Can't argue with that although surprised given he came off quite early. Had two game defining moments though with the gathering of the grubber and turnover penalty win in his own 22.

I thought any one of a number of guys would have been deserving. Stander or either lock would have been up there. VDF would have been but he faded....the line speed and effort of his first 50 minutes told on his legs and he simply could not maintain that pace of defensive aggression and line speed.

In the backs, I thought Aki was very good and Ringrose was very tidy, shutting down a fantastic Jack Goodhue.

It's a game of fine margins. Stockdale had two chip kicks. The first nearly handed NZ the game, potentially and the second won Ireland the game. Funny old match. Earls was relatively quiet but worked hard. He's extremely deserving to be part of this after missing out on Chicago. Someone that has toiled away for years and had some rough days against NZ but will gladly treasure this one. I thought Kearney had a very tidy game. He didn't dominate aerially (although probably came out slightly ahead overall) but his ability to compete meant that NZ gave up ball and spilled possession a couple of times. One or two big interventions but fortunate not to see yellow and would have done under another referee.

Lastly, this was a show down for World Rugby player of the year. Only one player was left as a viable option at the final whistle. Well done, Sexton.

eagle eye wrote: »

Ireland were brilliant tonight. A lot of great performances.
For me though it's a bit tempered by a feeling that this New Zealand team has looked a little fatigued over the last two months. The losses to South Africa and England we're poor performances. I feel like we will see a much different beast come the World Cup.

They beat England....

Alpha_zero wrote: »

Rugby is a sport only played by a handful of nations, that is a fact.

How many feckin fingers do you have you mutant!

Former Former wrote: »

Per ESPN, Luke McGrath made ten tackles in twenty minutes!

I've been higly critical of him in the past but I thought he was very good in his 20 minutes. Covered a huge amount of ground sweeping behind the line and made a couple of superb full length tackles.

His two kicks near the end were poor but I have no problem with the decisions to kick. We've seen France and Montpellier both pay the ultimate price in the last few weeks trying to pick and go their way to killing the game. Barnes clearly warned Ireland about their breakdown play before the final kick so he was absolutely right to send it into the air. The kick could have been better though.