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Watch - All Blacks prop Angus Ta'avao sent off
By PA
New Zealand lost to Ireland in Dunedin after being reduced to 14-man after prop Angus Ta’avao was sent off for a head clash with Ireland centre Garry Ringrose.
Ireland led 10-0 at the midway point of the first half following an early try from prop Andrew Porter.
Porter powered over inside three minutes to round off a period of sustained Irish pressure, with Sexton adding the extras and later landing a long-range penalty.
The All Blacks were then temporarily reduced to 14 men after winger Leicester Fainga’anuku was sin-binned for a late challenge on Hansen.
New Zealand were temporarily reduced to 13 men after prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi was yellow carded for tackling Garry Ringrose off the ball.
Angus Ta’avao was brought on as cover for Tu’ungafasi and then promptly sent off following head-on-head contact with Ringrose.
Ta’avao was left bloodied by his challenge, while the stricken Ringrose also departed the field, with Bundee Aki replacing him.
The red card also lead to Ardie Savea being removed from the action at next scrum reset, a decision that came back to haunt them minutes later when the decision became permanent.
Australian journalist Christy Doran wrote: Nothing but red card. All Blacks replacement prop Angus Ta’avao has to be sent off. No drop, little mitigation. Red."
Irish Daily Mail reporter Rory Keane noted: "Angus Ta’avao becomes the sixth All Black to be sent off in Test history. The fourth in 50 years..."
Despite their numerical disadvantage, New Zealand only trailed 10-7 at the break.
Beauden Barrett dived over after the ball squirted out of a ruck to reduce the deficit following relentless All Blacks pressure just before the interval, with Jordie Barrett adding the conversion.
Ireland vice-captain James Ryan had moments earlier been shown a yellow card for cynically stopping an All Blacks quick-tap penalty.
Ireland would go on to claim a famous win, their first on New Zealand soil.
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Latest Comments
You forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time.
Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
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