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Ireland’s historic wins over New Zealand were a distant memory on Saturday as the All Blacks thrashed the men in green 46-14 in Tokyo to book their spot in the Rugby World Cup Semi Finals. It was a masterful performance from the two-time defending champions, but an equally disappointing effort from Ireland.
From the outset there seemed to be no way to stop the All Blacks from scoring. Richie Mo’unga knocked over penalty goal and then came the onslaught. Aaron Smith scored two tries in a span of six minutes, catching Ireland’s post defense napping in the middle, and then on the short side. Mo’unga landed both conversions to make it 17-0 mid-way through the first half.
Basic errors were rampant throughout the Irish side, with poor execution repeatedly handing possession back to New Zealand. Sevu Reece clattered into Jonathan Sexton, knocking the ball loose, and Mo’unga was there to hack in ahead for Beauden Barrett to touch down.
At 22-0 the game was effectively over by halftime and if there was any doubt, a try to Codie Taylor put it to rest within a few short minutes of the restart. The All Blacks piled through the middle and when Kieran Read was stopped short, the captain offloaded from the deck for Taylor to dive in under the sticks.
Reece wrapped around the defense to spark another try for Matt Todd just on the hour mark to make it 34-0 and Ireland were in danger of being shut out. Rory Best trudged off the pitch for the final time, with Jonathan Sexton soon behind him.
To their credit, the replacements made an impact and Ireland would not be completely shut out. Robbie Henshaw crossed on a hard line from a scrum, and a penalty try was earned from more pressure. On each occasion, however, the All Blacks responded immediately. George Bridge was freed on the left side and the Jordie Barrett on the right, the latter scoring on a huge overlap despite New Zealand being reduced to 14 men after Todd’s yellow card.
The result sets up a colossal Semi Final contest between New Zealand and England, arguably the two best teams on the planet at the moment. Few would bet against the All Blacks in this vein of form. Ireland once again fall flat in the Quarter Finals, and will start the rebuilding process without hugely popular coach Joe Schmidt, who bows out on a sadly forgettable note.
SCORING
NEW ZEALAND 46
Tries – A. Smith 2 (14’, 20’), B. Barrett (32’), C. Taylor (47’), M. Todd (61’), G. Bridge (72′), J. Barrett (79′)
Cons – R. Mo’unga 4/7 (15’, 21’, 48’, 73′)
Pens – R. Mo’unga 1/1 (6’)
Yellow cards – M. Todd (76′)
IRELAND 14
Tries – R. Henshaw (69′), Penalty try (76′)
Cons – J. Carbery 1/1 (70′)
TEAMS
NEW ZEALAND
1 Joe Moody (17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi 49’), 2 Codie Taylor (16 Dane Coles 60’), 3 Nepo Laulala (18 Angus Ta’avao 49’), 4 Brodie Retallick (20 Matt Todd 57’), 5 Samuel Whitelock, 6 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (19 Scott Barrett HT), 8 Kieran Read (capt.), 9 Aaron Smith (21 TJ Perenara 60’), 10 Richie Mo’unga, 11 George Bridge, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 13 Jack Goodhue (22 Sonny Bill Williams 53’), 14 Sevu Reece (23 Jordie Barrett 63’), 15 Beauden Barrett
IRELAND
1 Cian Healy (17 Dave Kilcoyne 49’), 2 Rory Best (capt.) (16 Niall Scannell 63’), 3 Tadhg Furlong (18 Andrew Porter 60’), 4 Iain Henderson (19 Tadhg Beirne 49’), 5 James Ryan, 6 Peter O’Mahony (20 Rhys Ruddock 57’), 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 CJ Stander, 9 Conor Murray (21 Luke McGrath 74′), 10 Jonathan Sexton (22 Joey Carbery 63’), 11 Jacob Stockdale, 12 Robbie Henshaw (23 Jordan Larmour 22’-26’), 13 Garry Ringrose (23 Jordan Larmour 5’-9’), 14 Keith Earls, 15 Rob Kearney (23 Jordan Larmour 53’)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistants: Pascal Gaüzère (France) & Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
