Rugby: Maori beat the numbers game

Maori centre Dwayne Sweeney scores against Ireland at Rotorua last night. Photo / Alan Gibson

If rugby really is a game of numbers, then the New Zealand Maori should not have stood a chance last night.

Captain Liam Messam jokingly claimed that the city's famous sulphur must have got into the glue, but for whatever reason, the digits peeled off their jerseys like wet paper off a wall.

But here's the numbers that should have killed them. In the 23 minutes before halftime, the Maori conceded six - six! - kickable penalties and blew comfortable 15-0 and 18-3 leads.

Rather than fold under the weight of an Irish pack that threatened dominance, the Maori displayed imagination with limited ball and no shortage of heart to come back from 25-18 down and win through a 71st minute penalty to replacement first five-eighth Willie Ripia.

"The boys had composure," captain Liam Messam said. "It's awesome for Maori rugby ... you can't wipe the smile off our faces at the moment."

What briefly threatened to be a demonstration of the best aspects of Maori rugby turned into a grind during the middle stages.

There were no complaints about referee Mark Lawrence, just a lament over their indiscipline.

"It was frustrating for us in the coaches' box ... to go into halftime with a draw through our own mistakes and indiscipline," coach Jamie Joseph said.

Ireland captain Geordan Murphy had a lament of his own - the slow start during which the Maori ran in two tries, one very soft, before they had caught their breath.

"The first 20 minutes was very disappointing again," he said. "But there were lots of positives about the way we came back into it."

They did so by muscling up.

Ireland coach Declan Kidney had pushed the broom through the side that played the All Blacks in New Plymouth, making 15 changes as he looks to build a World Cup squad.

Joseph opted for a mobile forward pack that he hoped would make up in raw-boned aggression what they lacked in bulk.

The Wallabies showed against the English last week that you can bluff having an international pack and get away with it and the Maori showed similar cunning.

They got a monster performance from promising prop Ben Afeaki, but struggled when Ireland took the direct approach.

The English, with a game built entirely around a big pack, will need no encouragement to do just that.

"The tight five is moving in the right direction," Joseph said, "But we've got to get a lot better yet."

On the rare occasions when they stretched Ireland, they looked irresistable. After Paddy Wallace had opened the second half with a try that owed everything to Geordan Murphy's smarts, the game entered a stalemate.

That lasted until the three-quarter mark when Sean Maitland sparked a breakout with a weaving run that started on his 10-metre line and ended well inside the Irish half.

Quick hands and replacement flanker Karl Lowe finished one of the great Maori rugby tries.

"It was my first touch of the ball. A pretty special moment," Lowe said.

The Maori can now add the Irish to a hit-list that includes the Lions, England and Scotland.

If they can beat England again in Napier on Wednesday, it will be their 300th victory in 432 games.

FULL TIME SCORE
* NZ Maori 31 (Hosea Gear, Dwayne Sweeney, Karl Lowe tries; Luke McAlister 3 pen con, Willie Ripia pen con)
* Ireland 28 (Paddy Wallace try; Jonathan Sexton 7 pen con)
* Half Time score: 18-18