NZ Herald's Rugby World Cup news show Beyond the Game sees Cheree Kinnear and Elliott Smith unpack the All Blacks' victory over Ireland in their quarter-final match.
Video / NZ Herald / Sky Sport
By Liam Napier at Stade de France
In an epic, absorbing, quarter-final contest for the ages, it seems wrong to single out individuals. Sam Cane, though, led his team into battle and then proceeded to play the role of tracer bullet to shine brightest in the defensive resilience that definitivelyalters the complexion of the All Blacks’ World Cup prospects.
The All Blacks embraced heroes aplenty at Stade de France. They mixed courageous defence with clinical attack - Beauden Barrett’s counter and chip kick to spark Leicester Fainga’anuku’s opening try and Richie Mo’unga’s second-half break for Will Jordan’s strike - to extend Ireland’s World Cup quarter-final hoodoo to eight painful matches.
Jordie Barrett’s try-saver to prevent the Irish maul from scoring late in the second half and Sam Whitelock’s final turnover penalty will live long in the memory as defining moments.
Among the carnage and captivating struggles, Cane delivered a rampaging trail of defensive destruction to crunch everything in sight with a game-leading 21 tackles.
It was Cane’s possessed hitman performance, alongside the outstanding loose forward trio featuring Ardie Savea and Shannon Frizell and another strong set piece platform that laid the foundations for the All Blacks’ revenge-tinged victory.
Last year, in the third-test victory in Wellington that secured their maiden series win in New Zealand, Irish blindside Peter O’Mahony sledged Cane by saying he was a “shit Richie McCaw”.
“Nah, no motivation from that,” Cane said after the All Blacks survived the torrid affair to break Ireland’s 17-test winning run. “We know they’ve got a few players that like to get under your skin with tactics like that. We went into the game knowing they were going to be like that but we were really focused on sticking to our jobs so we didn’t buy into it.”
Brothers Jordie Barrett and Beauden Barrett after winning the quarter-final against Ireland. Photo / Photosport
Through the turbulent and tumultuous past four years, Cane has often been a focal figure for criticism. He’s stayed the course through those challenging times, always with the full backing of the team. After sitting out the early stages of this tournament with back spasms, he reminded O’Mahony and the New Zealand public of his true value on the pinnacle stage.
Savea, with multiple telling turnovers in a breakdown battle the All Blacks largely owned, was equally influential.
“Unbelievable,” Jordie Barrett said of his skipper. “He just shows up in those big moments. I bet he’s feeling pretty good about himself right now and so he should be. He’s well respected in our group. We know, and we’ve learned in big test matches and at World Cups, it’s your defence that wins you those games. He showed up in those moments. He’s so physical and so brave and so tough. He was outstanding.”
Ian Foster had almost lost his voice from yelling in the coaching box when he arrived at the post-match press conference. After watching the All Blacks overcome significant adversity in the form of Aaron Smith and Codie Taylor’s yellow cards to find a way to survive, the coach praised Cane and the collective composure under consuming pressure.
“Sam is made for these sort of test matches,” Foster said. “He does a great job. Ardie was outstanding again, he put his body on the line just about every second breakdown. Shannon [Frizell] continues to bring a different style to the game. He was running on empty at times but the loosies played well.
“The world has been talking about these quarter-finals for 12 months, even longer. Sometimes the sweetest victories are when your opponent plays really well and tests you to the limit. The limelight was on Ireland. They’d built a team for this iconic moment. They had massive expectations to perform. We’ve been there as a team and we knew what that’s like.
“This is a special day for us. We played a lot of that game with 14 men and I couldn’t be prouder of the effort of Sam and the players. We looked in control of it and it felt good.”
Will Jordan and Aaron Smith celebrate following the All Blacks' victory over Ireland. Photo / Getty Images
While the All Blacks’ defensive performance will be widely lauded, aspects of it must improve, too. Bundee Aki, after he beat three defenders, and Jamison Gibson-Park both crossed too easily.
The gripping finale, though, that demanded the All Blacks remain connected and calm as Ireland threw everything at them for 37 phases embodies the resolve.
“What an incredible finish to a test match, 37 phases - that’s almost as long a period to defend as I’ve ever heard of or witnessed,” Cane said. “The ability of the boys to keep turning up for each other. It’s pretty clear defence probably won us the test match tonight. History shows teams that win World Cups are very good defensively. That defensive performance has been building for a wee while. That’s got to be our benchmark.”
While many of the soon-to-depart All Blacks legends live to fight another day, Ireland playmaker Johnny Sexton’s career concludes on a sombre note.
Sexton’s devastation was clear but he summoned the strength to encapsulate the path that now awaits the All Blacks.
“The All Blacks judge themselves on winning World Cups, so time will tell how good this team is,” Sexton said. “Moments of brilliance tonight won them the game and how dogged they were in defence and how good they were at the breakdown. They’ve got some outstanding players, they’re well-coached. They’ve improved a lot since Joe [Schmidt] and Jason Ryan has gone in as forwards coach. They’re clearly on the up. They’ve got Argentina in the semis so likely in the final and then anything can happen.”
Following a performance such as this anything, indeed, now seems possible.
