Will Jordan’s late try handed New Zealand a comfortable 23-13 victory over an error-strewn Ireland in Dublin.
The boot of Damien McKenzie, restored to the number 10 shirt with Beauden Barrett out with concussion, kept New Zealand ahead of Ireland, who were uncharacteristically poor in their first international of the autumn.
Ireland crossed through Josh van der Flier shortly after the break to take the lead, with New Zealand down to 14 after Jordie Barrett was sin binned for a high shot.
However, more penalties from McKenzie, plus Jordan’s score in the 68th minute, gave the All Blacks a comfortable lead they never relinquished.
“It was intense out there,” Ireland skipper Caelan Doris said.
“They were quality, we weren’t good enough.”
New Zealand led early through McKenzie’s boot, although the boot of Munster flyhalf Jack Cowley kept Ireland in the contest.
The gap at half-time was just three points after Barrett was sent to the sin bin just before the break for a high shot on Garry Ringrose.
The TMO decided a yellow card was sufficient, to the relief of the All Blacks, who conceded the first try of the game to van der Flier when down a man, as Ireland look the lead.
Jordie Barrett was sin binned for this shot on Garry Ringrose. (Getty Images: Sportfile/Seb Daly)
Those repeated infringements continued to hurt the Irish though, with McKenzie able to continue to accumulate points off the tee before Jordan finished off a well-constructed move in the corner.
In the final 10 minutes, Ireland pushed for a try, with ex-New Zealand Māori winger James Lowe kicking the Irish into a prominent position from an impossible angle to get the crowd off their feet.
However, another error saw the All Blacks clear their lines.
Second half substitute Ciarán Frawley in particular had a shocker for Ireland’s Six Nations champions, the Leinster man dropping ball after ball to continually hand New Zealand possession.
“We knew coming here it was going to be an incredibly tough match,” player of the match McKenzie said.
“Test matches like that are won in small moments, and we capitalised on a couple of those moments.”
It ended the world number one’s 19-match unbeaten run in Dublin and was New Zealand’s best performance under Scott Robertson.
The win against the gives the All Blacks a perfect start to their Spring Tour following their 24-22 victory over England last week.
Ireland, who had won two matches in a row against the All Blacks in New Zealand in 2022, have now lost two-straight, including New Zealand’s 24-28 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal victory over the Irish in 2023.
