All Blacks v Ireland: Dave Rennie’s biggest selection calls pay off in Eden Park triumph

By Liam Napier at Eden Park

Attacking balance and punishing, accurate defence were the most notable improvements as Dave Rennie’s All Blacks confirmed their rapid progression with a statement success against Ireland.

Rennie’s All Blacks remain in the infancy of their development but Saturday’s 40-21 victory to preserve fortress Eden Park in front of an appreciative 48,153 strong crowd signalled a significant step forward for this team.

After promising and patchy wins over France and Italy to open Rennie’s tenure, the All Blacks delivered a compelling performance that featured elevated attacking balance between run and kick – and with the forward pack fronting in a big way through a series of physically dominant and direct carries.

That blend of attacking variety had Ireland on the ropes, down 28-7 at halftime, and forced the visitors into 34 missed tackles.

Rennie’s two bold selection decisions also came up trumps.

Patrick Tuipulotu, in his first test match of the July window, led the physical display with a standout performance that harnessed powerful carries through the heart of the Irish defence. And on this occasion, Tupou Vaa’i’s added size from blindside flanker caused Ireland problems too.

“I’m really rapt,” Rennie said after the six-tries-to-three win. “The balance of our game was really good tonight.

“We looked after the ball, our big men carried and went a bit more direct, we had smarter kicking that created opportunities for us. Overall, we defended really well. It’s a nice way to wrap up the three weeks.

“Ireland are a side who genuinely believed they could win tonight. They came here with a lot of confidence. They won a series here last time. They have a very experienced squad who play a lot of footy together.

“We’re quite a new group. These guys played a Six Nations a few months ago. We’d have taken a one-point win but we were pretty clinical when it mattered. A lot of the hard work we’ve been putting in on the field we saw today.”

Defensively, the All Blacks were well prepared. They largely read the Irish attack to flood their passing lanes, where Quinn Tupaea led the charge, and forced multiple uncharacteristic mistakes – an impressive 17 turnovers – that led directly to All Blacks tries.

“If I compared where our defence was against France to where it was tonight ... Tana [Umaga] and his group have done a massive amount of work and we’re starting to get a response there,” Rennie continued.

“We’ve got a lot more in us. We can be a lot better but what we’ve been able to put on the park in three weeks is pleasing and exciting.”

While he offered another strong contribution on defence and at the breakdown, Luke Jacobson’s first-half yellow card for a dangerous cleanout was one of few blips on this performance.

The only other slight concern is a calf injury that is expected to sideline Codie Taylor for the first few weeks of the South African tour. That setback is mitigated by Asafo Aumua’s influential impact from the bench against Ireland.

A fourth straight win over the Irish won’t be taken for granted by many of the All Blacks, including Will Jordan, who experienced the pain of Ireland’s first series success in New Zealand four years ago.

After six losses against New Zealand, South Africa and France by at least 10 points, Ireland have a mountain to climb before next year’s World Cup.

“We didn’t have it all our own way but that’s a good reflection of where we’re heading. We can be proud of that effort,” Jordan said.

“We talked about winning the collisions and some of our big boys, particularly Patrick Tuipulotu in that first half, was outstanding. That allowed us to play on top. We balanced our game well. We kicked a little bit more.

“It was certainly our most complete performance. We’d had good patches in the other games but our ability to be composed – and putting 40 points on Ireland – is no mean feat.

“It’s a good end to what’s been a productive three weeks for us. We’re in as good a spot as we can be. The boys are really connected and working hard for each other.”

An eight-match tour of South Africa remains a daunting prospect but after three successive wins and genuine progression, Rennie’s All Blacks are in a vastly better place than where they started.

“We’re under no illusions about what’s coming, but what a tour it will be to be a part of,” Jordan said.

Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.