Andy Farrell’s men will be stung by the manner of the loss but success for the southern hemisphere nations sets up the rest of the Autumn Nations Series nicely
Gerry Thornley: The match was poor, the referee was poor, the crowd was poor and the All Blacks were adequate
“In the end, there must surely be an admission that Ireland’s ability has been manifestly overestimated. They may have flowered briefly, but they do not look anything like the advertised perennial. Great sides don’t lose games the way Ireland lost this one.”Gerry Thornley: The match was poor, the referee was poor, the crowd was poor and the All Blacks were adequate
When Jack Crowley was called ashore before the hour mark, with Ireland still leading at that point, he already looked wounded before he even reached the touchline. Rarely has the fickle nature of sport been better illustrated than by Frawley’s last 21 minutes in Durban and last 22 minutes against the All Blacks. One of the abiding concerns from the night was that both Crowley and Frawley had been undermined by the experience.The suspicion lurks that Prendergast has been earmarked for a Test debut against Fiji and will be given the keys to the game plan for the week.
But there was also palpable delight at the sight of a beaming Joe Schmidt congratulating his players. That ‘bonus’ fixture to celebrate the IRFU’s 150th anniversary on November 30th looks even more intriguing now.
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