Ireland dominated from start to finish to topple New Zealand 29-20 at an electric Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
DUBLIN – Ireland dominated from start to finish to topple New Zealand 29-20 at an electric Aviva Stadium on Saturday and make it three wins from the sides’ last five meetings with another superb performance against the All Blacks.
The Springboks are now back at the top of the World Rugby rankings following their win over Scotland and the All Blacks’ defeat.
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Ireland completely controlled the first half but somehow trailed 10-5 at the break when only James Lowe could breach the superb New Zealand defence. Codie Taylor’s try on the other hand came from one of only two visiting forays into the Irish half.
The onslaught continued in the second period and the All Blacks dam was broken, first through hooker Ronan Kelleher and then man-of-the-match Caelan Doris. A conversion and a penalty from captain Johnny Sexton put the hosts 20-10 in front.
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Will Jordan’s 17th try from 11 caps set up a tense final 20 minutes but Ireland stood firm with replacement flyhalf Joey Carbery knocking over three late penalties, one from the halfway line, before the packed house erupted on the final whistle.
Reuters
