Michael Lowry and Ireland endured a rough night against the Māori All Blacks. Photo / Getty
Michael Lowry and Ireland endured a rough night against the Māori All Blacks. Photo / Getty
Their bodies and egos may be bruised but Ireland coach Andy Farrell is confident his side haven't been severely hurt by last night's tour-opening loss.
The Māori All Blacks scored 24 unanswered points in 15 minutes to stun the visitors in Hamilton, racing to a commanding first-half leadand holding on for a second victory over Ireland in as many meetings.
The Irish wrestled back some control in the second spell yet failed to translate that to the scoreboard, kicking off their five-match tour in foreboding fashion.
But Farrell was unconcerned about any lingering effects from the defeat. Instead, he was quick to note that the All Blacks weren't the only ones watching ahead of Saturday's first test at Eden Park.
"I don't know if that transfers, really," the coach said. "There were 15 guys sat in the stands ready to train tomorrow.
"They would've watched the game and taken some lessons from that, certainly how the Māori All Blacks played. I'm sure that those boys feel for their teammates and they'll prepare properly and look forward to [Saturday].
"There's nothing like sitting in the stands and watching a live game and actually knowing that you've got a chance in three days' time, so that will stand us in good stead."
More worrying than any psychological setbacks were the physical blows Ireland suffered last night.
Already missing Iain Henderson and Rob Herring through injury, there could be a few more tourists watching in the Eden Park stands on Saturday.
Veteran prop Cian Healy provided the biggest concern, carted off with a lower leg injury, while Jimmy O'Brien and James Hume were also in doubt.
"Cian doesn't look too good, he was in a little bit of pain coming off the field," Farrell said. "We have obviously got a plan for the test but there is always going to be one or two moving parts in terms of injuries and substitutions. We'll see how people wake up."
Farrell was hopeful, most of all, they would wake up desperate to atone for a performance in which Ireland failed to fire a shot in the first half.
"Some of those guys who get to back up, whether it be on the bench or starting, they get another opportunity," he said. "When you're disappointed coming away from a result that didn't go your way, all you want is another opportunity.
"The way that some of the individuals have learned, stood up, done some unbelievably good stuff and done some poor stuff on the back of that, it's brilliant learnings for this group.
"Five of them played in the green shirt for the first time, a good handful of them have not had too much experience. It's a new team coming together in seven days."
TJ Perenara and his team are applauded off by Ireland at FMG Stadium Waikato. Photo / Getty
That much was also true of a Māori side who produced much more fluidity in attack and just as much mettle on defence.
Having played only two games against Samoa since 2019, Clayton McMillan's men displayed a level of quality that belied their lack of time together. And with another fortnight of training ahead of the rematch in Wellington, the Māori will be quietly confident of completing a sweep.
"We've been waiting for this opportunity to play a tier-one nation for a long time," McMillan said. "We got our opportunity and my biggest fear was that we would get stage fright on the big stage, and we didn't.
"The first half was awesome; the second half reminds us that we still have some work to do before we play the second game."
