Ireland’s journey in the Rugby World Cup came to an end after they suffered a 28-24 defeat to New Zealand in the quarter-final at Stade de France in Paris.
As the best team in the world, Ireland was expected to at least make it to the semi-finals for the first time. However, Andy Farrell’s team failed to break their quarter-final curse on another heartbreaking night against the All Blacks in the World Cup.
The end of Johnny Sexton’s career as captain of Ireland is also marked by defeat. He looked sad at the end of the game, as the pain of one last knockout loss took over.
Though, New Zealand is still on track for a fourth title thanks to tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ardie Savea, and Will Jordan. They will play the Pumas in the last four on Friday at Stade de France.
Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park, both from New Zealand, scored tries for Ireland, along with a penalty try. However, despite the loud support of the 78,845 Irish fans, there was no dramatic comeback in the end.
Aaron Smith and Codie Taylor were both given yellow cards for New Zealand, but Ian Foster’s team was able to hold out and get back at the Irish after losing the Test series at home last year.
It was another exciting game in this exciting rivalry. Ireland fought hard until the end to score the game-winning try, but it was the New Zealand players with their arms in the air at the end of a heroic defensive effort, leaving the Irish players on the field in tears.
Their 17-game winning streak and hopes of following England’s 2003 team and winning both the Six Nations Grand Slam and the World Cup come to an end with the loss.
The All Blacks, on the other hand, will be very confident going into their semi-final match against Argentina. Argentina beat Wales 29–17 earlier on Saturday in Marseille, making it a great day for teams from the southern hemisphere.
This was one of the most anticipated World Cup knockout games in years, with rivalries already high after New Zealand’s win in the 2019 quarterfinals and Ireland’s series win in New Zealand last year. The buildup to the game was on par with the All Blacks’ loss to France in the first game and Ireland’s memorable win over South Africa three weeks ago.
Ireland, on the other hand, was seen as the clear favourite going into the quarterfinals, where they hoped to end 36 years of pain.
For New Zealand, this was a tantalising chance to not only get back at Ireland, but also bring back the All Blacks’ aura and fear factor, which they have lost in recent years. That’s exactly what they did.
Before the break in the 2019 quarter-final, the All Blacks jumped out to a 22-0 lead. Ireland’s first half performance was much better, but the three-time champions were in charge at the break.
Due to the importance of the game, both teams were tense in the beginning, but New Zealand settled down faster, and penalties by Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett put them ahead 6-0.
Last week, Ireland easily beat Scotland, but they had a hard time getting going here. This let the All Blacks get even further ahead when Beauden Barrett chipped the ball forward, was picked up, and Fainga’anuku scored in the corner.
Aki, who was probably Ireland’s best player in the tournament, scored a great try to get his team back in the game. But the All Blacks scored again just six minutes later when Savea dived over to end another period of sustained New Zealand pressure.
But Mo’unga missed his conversion, even though he didn’t get in trouble for the high tackle on Aki. The All Blacks were even more upset when scrum-half Aaron Smith was shown a yellow card for purposely knocking the ball on.
And when Gibson-Park, Smith’s opposite number who was born in Auckland, scored a great goal on one of the last plays of the half, it felt like Ireland had finally taken the lead.
After Smith came back on, the All Blacks put the pressure back on the Irish in the 52nd minute when Jordan crossed after Mo’unga’s lightning-fast run through the defence.
Sexton missed a penalty, which made things even worse for Ireland. But Taylor broke up the Irish maul, and referee Wayne Barnes gave them a penalty try, which cut New Zealand’s lead to almost nothing again.
But Jordie Barrett missed a penalty but then made a great long-range kick to increase the lead to four. He then stopped Ireland from scoring a try at the other end by holding up Ronan Kelleher in the last second.
Ireland tried hard to score a last-ditch try, but the All Blacks held strong through 37 phases of pressure to secure a crucial victory over their rivals. Sexton and his Irish teammates were left to reflect on their agonising eighth quarter-final loss.
Photo by EPA/TERESA SUAREZ
