Kiwis power-play smothers O'Gara
New Zealand’s juggernaut flattens any hopes of upset
The Irish squad stare down the Haka before kick-off at Croke Park
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Good teams punish mistakes and seize on weaknesses.
Countless examples abounded on Saturday evening. Brad Thorn enthusiastically lining up poor Tommy Bowe and then trampling him underfoot. The collective offensive assault on a wounded Paul O'Connell, whose colleagues failed miserably to re-align. Both led to tries.
But great teams also target perceived strengths.
With the Lions coaching ticket watching with interest from the posh seats, the battle of the out-halves was almost rendered redundant from the first, ill-timed attempt by the home favourite to clear his defensive lines in the opening moments.
Wayne Smith, one third of the New Zealand brains trust, had generally attempted to skew the pre-match presumption that Ireland's back three would be able to out-think and out-kick their black-clad counterparts.
Specifically, Smith and company alighted on Ronan O'Gara's pivotal role, sensing that should the pre-eminence of Ireland's No 10 falter, then so too would Ireland's game-plan. If Smith does, indeed, step down after this Tour, his will have been a significant swansong.
Full-back Mils Muliaina, who could have been forgiven for any mental distraction as his baby boy awaits heart surgery on the other side of the world, maintained admirable composure in the light of an aerial bombardment which, although initially novel, began to look increasingly ill-judged with every minute.
Whoever conceived of Ireland's game-plan does not deserve censure; rather whoever decided to stick with such a folly in the light of ever decreasing returns, does. They may as well have handed possession to their opponents on a silver salver.
Targeted
Muliaina's confession that O'Gara was targeted in the strongest -- not weakest -- facet of his game was a devastating critique generally of an Irish display devoid of any wit or invention.
"We put a lot of pressure on him," said the full-back, who revelled with a glut of free ball. "There were a lot of kicks that he didn't get right, we were out of position a few times, but his kicks seemed to come off the side of the boot.
"We wanted to eliminate his kicking game and I felt we did that. We worked hard as a back three to catch the ball on the full and our guys made it even easier by putting pressure on his kicks."
That O'Gara managed to stay the full 80 minutes despite enduring a barrage of pressure from the opposition, was a further indictment of the supposedly new Ireland; that he wasn't replaced privately surprised the Kiwi camp.
Ali Williams, earning his first man of the match bauble after 59 attempts, surveyed the destruction of Ireland's platform from a position of supreme strength.
"I don't know if you can concentrate on one player," Williams admitted, as memories flocked back to the second test in Auckland, when the Irish out-half was fingered by the opposition as a weak link.
"But we focused a lot around him in terms of his kicking, and putting pressure on him, so yeah that was an area we would have looked at. And having Mils back was a bonus for us today."
The full-back was playing only his second game in 10 weeks; after the joy of seeing his wife Hayley give birth to Max last month, the proud parents were devastated to learn that the new arrival will require surgery to repair a hole in his heart before Christmas.
With the baby in hospital for a check-up -- the operation must be delayed until he gains sufficient weight -- Hayley watched the proceedings in McDonalds and arguably inspired one of the greatest performances of this fine player's distinguished 66-cap career.
"It was in the back of my mind thinking about things at home," he admitted. "I obviously had a little bit of motivation thinking about that, and I wanted to prove that I could forget about the distractions and just perform.
"I found it very tiring in the first 10 minutes, but I got a lot of opportunity to rest because there were a few mistakes and the ball went to touch a few times. It was stop-start, which helps.
"My body's feeling really good and I need to get sharper, I had a couple of opportunities but I wasn't as sharp as I wanted. Hayley watched the game in the Ronald McDonald house, yeah. She's been in and out of hospital and it's taking longer than we expected. We're just taking it day by day, she's in good spirits."
The laconic Williams could have scored a try in a second half where his side cantered to the winning post, save for Robert Kearney's left knee -- although the sight of second-row colleague Brad Thorn nabbing his first international try in the northern hemisphere dampened his ardour.
Was it a try? "Yes, your honour," he smiled. "The ref got there and obviously he was a bit late to see me score. He owes me a beer. I'm going to have to listen to Brad all week now"
More seriously, Williams was a little more flattering to his hosts, mindful of team-mate Conrad Smith's stirring team-talk during the week on the history of Croke Park.
"We used the energy of the crowd to drive us on," said Williams, who had difficulty hearing Keven Mealamu's lineout calls. "I said to the ref 'mate, give me time'. He gave me time, but he just didn't give me a try.
"I think you're underestimating the Irish, they attacked pretty well, but they didn't get as much width as they would have wanted. We've seen some of their tries during the week so we know they can play.
Respect
"The plan was to keep them in their own half so they couldn't attack, but they're always a threat. It wouldn't be giving Ireland due respect to say the next two weeks will be even tougher."
League convert Thorn knows all about what it takes to drive a sporting behemoth after his time with the Brisbane Broncos; he feels this side, notwithstanding the perplexity of repeated World Cup flops, emit the same formidable presence.
"There's something special about this team," he said. "There's some good spirit in this team. I remember watching the Sean Fitzpatrick team when they'd win ugly or just score that extra try to win. We're getting that kind of character now and it's going to be exciting to see where it goes. I wanted the game to keep going. I feared the Irish. I feared losing."
Not allowing that fear to become a weakness was, perhaps, their greatest strength on the day.
