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Ex-internationals outline how Ireland can bounce back against All Blacks
By Sam Smith
A pair of former internationals have detailed how Ireland can bounce back from last week's series-opening defeat to the All Blacks in Dunedin this weekend.
Ireland's quest for a first-ever win on Kiwi soil hit a speed bump last Saturday when they were thumped 42-19 at Eden Park in Auckland as the All Blacks took the first major step to clinching a highly-anticipated series win.
All eyes will now be focused on the second test at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday as Ireland must beat the All Blacks in order to keep their hopes of a series win alive.
According to former Maori All Blacks halfback Bryn Hall, the key to any Irish success in the second test will revolve around their physical presence in the collision zone, an area which he believes the All Blacks dominated last weekend.
“I think physicality is going to be a big one," Hall, the six-time Super Rugby champion who will soon join the Shizuoka Blue Revs in Japan, told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
"I know we harp on about this and it’s such a boring answer sometimes, but physicality wins the game. The All Blacks won that battle a lot, and they [Ireland] had their opportunities.
"The difference was any time they made a mistake or something like that, the All Blacks pounced on that and were able to really impose themselves in being able to score points off that."
Hall's sentiments were echoed by former All Blacks hooker James Parsons, who told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod that New Zealand's dominance in physicality paved the way for their blistering run of tries in the final 10 minutes of last week's first half.
With the game in the balance as half-time neared, All Blacks trio Sevu Reece, Quinn Tupaea and Ardie Savea all ran in tries to give the hosts an unassailable lead at the break.
Parsons said New Zealand's ability to suck the life out of Ireland in the half-hour before that sequence of tries by coming up trumps in the contact area proved crucial in the grand scheme of their victory.
“Bryn speaks about that physicality or winning collisions, and people are probably going, ‘Oh yeah, you say that all the time’," the former two-test international told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
"Just to get an understanding, all those direct carriers, all those tackles, all those rucks cleaned before that five-to-six-minute period where they [the All Blacks] scored 21 points is all because the tank’s been sucked dry.
"Those opportunities, those moments of slip mentally have allowed them to expose it, but also the physicality of defence with turnover that led to Sevu Reece’s try.
"We’ve spoken about the physicality on Jamison Gibson-Park to get that turnover for the grubber through try, and then they’re trying to spread the field, Aaron Smith, head-up play, through the middle, try.
"That’s how quickly the game can turn. It’s five or six minutes, and outside of that, they were in the contest."
Kick-off for Saturday's rematch between Ireland and the All Blacks is scheduled for 7:05pm NZT.
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I don’t really share Johnson’s opinion. Nothing better than Tupaea and Lienert-Brown in NZ? It’s a good duo, and he wouldn’t look out of place, but I think we can do better. Tavatavanawai seems superior to Tupaea at 12. He’s a brute force, who makes few mistakes (which can still be criticized in Tupaea), formidable both with and without the ball in close contact. I can see him playing with Proctor. On paper, this combination would be very, very interesting, in the same philosophy as the iconic Nonu/C Smith duo.
Anyway, I remain convinced that in Razor’s mind, Jordie Barrett is indispensable at center, and he could quickly team up with Leicester Fainga’anuku. I’m betting on that in the near future.
Finally, a Tavatanawai/Proctor duo would be very interesting. Ennor also seems to be a good option instead of Proctor, who still hasn’t played this season. But Ennor has only played one match... he needs to be seen again and get some game time. There is a lot of talent in New Zealand in these two positions. The hardest part will be cutting players who could make a difference for many teams. The choices are going to be tough. If I had to make a bold bet, and unlike Johnson, I don’t see Tupaea being selected, and I imagine ALB could be in a tight spot against Proctor and Ennor if they are fit.
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