Young Ireland team learn why New Zealand is the land of the ruthless

Cian Tracey

Inexperience shows as Farrell begins to properly gauge the depth of his squad with tougher tests to come

Ireland captain Bundee Aki and wing Keith Earls lead their side off the field after the defeat to the Maori All Blacks in Hamilton, New Zealand GETTY

June 30 2022 02:30 AM

Welcome to New Zealand, the land of the ruthless.

For these young Ireland players who had only seen and heard from afar about just how tough it is to win in these parts, this was a sobering lesson handed down to them by a more skilful, more powerful and ultimately, more cohesive Maori All Blacks side.

Before Ireland left Dublin, Andy Farrell made it clear that he wanted to find out about the quality and depth of his squad, with next year’s World Cup in mind.

After 80 bruising minutes in which Ireland lost Cian Healy, Jeremy Loughman, James Hume and Jimmy O’Brien to injury at Waikato Stadium, Farrell was left with enough immediate concerns regarding the ramifications for the remainder of this tour to not have time to worry about the bigger picture.

On a horribly wet night in Hamilton, several inexperienced players learned some tough home truths about what it takes to merely survive in international rugby.

Considering the Maori were also limited in terms of their preparation time, Farrell will be disappointed with the disjointed and sloppy nature of what was a very costly defeat.

The Ireland head coach could look for excuses in that this was a scratch team playing together for the first time after a long journey at the end of a long season, yet the reality is, most men in green underperformed by their own standards, and for large parts, were the creators of their own downfall.

Now, however, is not the time for knee-jerk reactions about the futures of some of these young players, for most of whom, this was a major step up.

This is exactly why Farrell opted to add two midweek Maori games to what was already a difficult tour, and while there will be some short-term pain, his hope is that by the time he arrives in France in the autumn of next year, the experience of his wider squad will be significantly enhanced.

The problem for the Ireland boss is, Gavin Coombes aside, hardly any of those, who were so desperately chomping at the bit, seized their opportunity on a night that promised so much.

Ireland’s breakdown work was poor, their kicking game was equally inaccurate, and as the set-piece creaked, the defence was torn asunder.

Ireland looked exactly like a side that had never played together, as glaring systematic errors came about from poor communication, and an apparent lack of understanding or trust in what the person beside each other was doing.

That created doglegs in defence, which the Maori were only too happy to glide through. Six clean breaks to two said enough before you even considered that the hosts beat 27 defenders to Ireland’s 14.

Devoid of any discernible leadership, particularly around the communication with referee Wayne Barnes, who visibly grew more and more frustrated with Ireland going offside and conceding penalties at the breakdown, it required a cool head to stem the flow.

Instead, the Maori ran riot in a dominant 12-minute spell in which they scored three tries before the break to put the result beyond doubt.

By half-time, you feared it could get embarrassing for the tourists, only they dug deep to put some bit of respectability on the scoreline. Make no mistake about it, however, this was no moral victory.

“You try and find ways of giving people a chance because before the World Cup, there isn’t that much time,” Farrell said.
“Time is running out as far as that’s concerned so we’ve got to find out about people and give them an opportunity.”

Since arriving in New Zealand last week, Ireland had been warned about the passionate and fiery welcome that awaited from the Maori, with Rua Tipoki highlighting how much family is at the heart of their culture.

Not needing any more motivation than they already had, the night began with an incredible poignant moment.

As the Maori gathered in a huddle preparing for the haka, Bundee Aki, captaining Ireland for the first time on his return to his former home, laid an Ireland jersey, with the number 11 on the back, in front of the Maori.

An eerie silence fell around Waikato Stadium as an image of Sean Wainui, a former Chiefs and Maori All Blacks winger who tragically passed away last October in a car accident at the age of just 25, flashed up on the big screen.

The Maori then launched into an intense haka before Wainui’s wife Paige and their two children – son Kawariki and daughter Arahia – walked onto the pitch to collect the Ireland jersey, with a profound hush again descending over Hamilton.

It was at that moment, you knew that for the Maori, this game meant a huge amount.

“Look, it’s a huge privilege to have them do that, especially with Seanie and his young family,” Aki said.

“A kid who had a bright future and to get the privilege to put that jersey down showed a lot of respect to him and his family. It was a privilege.”

This was akin to the emotional scenes in Thomond Park in 2016, when the Maori laid one of their jerseys with the initials ‘AF’ on the back before presenting it to Anthony Foley’s sons Tony and Dan.

“What they did when Axel passed away was a huge moment for every Munster fan and for everyone watching that night,” said Ireland No 8 Gavin Coombes, who was in Limerick that memorable night six years ago.

“It was a gesture that went beyond what the game was.

“Bundee kept his speech short; telling us what he was going to do (in terms of presenting the jersey), what we were going to do when we were facing the haka and the respect we should show the haka and that we should not fear it but embrace it.”

For all that Ireland may have embraced the challenge, they weren’t able to withstand it, as soon as the Maori cranked up the heat.

Yes, this really is the land of the ruthless, and with the All Blacks at Eden Park to come in just two days, it’s about to get even more intense.