How New Zealand's media reacted to 'Disaster in Dunedin'

After singing the All Blacks praises last weekend, New Zealand’s rugby media were more muted in their assessments of Ireland’s historic 23-12 win in Dunedin.

It was the first time the northern hemisphere side had won in New Zealand and crucially levelled the three-match series to set up a decider in Wellington.

Discipline proved an issue for the All Blacks which frustrated many corners of the media, as they had three players sinbinned in the first half alone and were forced at one point to play with 13 men.

To make matters worse, replacement prop Angus Ta'avao was shown red in the 31st minute for clashing heads with Gary Ringrose in a tackle.

Following this, the 14 men of New Zealand struggled to take charge and were crippled by two Andrew Porter tries, scored either side of halftime.

Consolation tries from Beauden Barrett and Will Jordan were not enough to prevent Ireland claiming a fourth win in the last seven meetings between the sides, a statistic that has left the home team’s media incensed.

Gregor Paul, writing for the New Zealand Herald, did not mince his words when arguing the result was further proof of New Zealand’s sad decline.

“It will forever be known as the disaster in Dunedin,” he wrote. “From being heroic in the first test, the All Blacks were catastrophic in the second.

“The All Blacks took one step forward last week, they took at least two if not three back in Dunedin and while their list of faults was long and comprehensive, the nuts and bolts of their demise could be summed up by saying they lacked physicality and imagination.

“The All Blacks were passive and insipid, saved from humiliation only by their miraculous scrambling defence which was brilliant. But the All Blacks can't survive in the rarefied air of test rugby by spending most of the game on their own goal line and given their recidivist offending in the art of muscling up, it is now increasingly difficult to see how the coaching team can survive.”

Hayden Meikle adopted a similar perspective when penning his assessments for the Otago Daily Times, comparing the physicality of Ireland with the absurdity which New Zealand succumbed to.

“It was a humbling night for the All Blacks, who were comprehensively out-played, just a week after crushing Ireland in the first test.

“It was their first loss at Forsyth Barr Stadium, and their heaviest loss in Dunedin in history. They struggled for any attacking fluency, and their shocking discipline and error rate gave them little hope of staying with the rampant Irish.”

It was not all praise for Ireland from Meikle who cited their lack of killer instinct in the face of valiant defensive resolve from their opponents.

“The All Blacks at least scrambled well on defence to keep the scoreline reasonable, but this was a night to forget for Ian Foster’s men.

“The Irish dominated possession but wasted lots of opportunities and only led 10-7 at halftime. The All Blacks had been thoroughly out-played but were still well in the game at halftime.

“By the final whistle, though, only Irish eyes were smiling.”

Liam Napier of the New Zealand Herald was not as scathing when reflecting on the home team’s performance, drawing attention to the battling spirit the side showcased.

“Ian Foster's men fought gallantly throughout but as the match wore on and fatigue set in, attacking errors compounded as they attempted to launch an improbable comeback.

“In many respects, Ireland made hard work of their significant advantage but through two tries to prop Andrew Porter and Jonathan Sexton's boot, they gradually pushed clear to hand the All Blacks their first home defeat since September 2018.”

Richard Knowler of Stuff enjoyed the freneticism of the test match and commended Johnny Sexton’s captaincy and the defensive effort of the All Blacks.

“This wasn't flawless rugby, far from it, but it overflowed with controversy, confusion, entertainment and sheer blood-and-guts action.

“Now the All Blacks and Ireland, who were superbly captained by the cool-headed Johnny Sexton, head to Wellington to decide the winner of the three-test series.

“The All Blacks' defensive work in the final minutes of the first stanza was remarkable.”

Stuff’s Aaron Goile added to this assessment by pointing out the ramifications of the deceive loss.

“When the world rankings are officially updated on Monday, the All Blacks will drop to fourth. That is New Zealand’s lowest-ever position on the chart, since they were introduced in 2003.”