All Blacks legend Jeff Wilson was tempered in his praise for Ireland after their historic first win over the men in black on New Zealand soil.
Ireland made history with a rousing 12-23 defeat of Ian Foster’s side in Dunedin, setting up a mouth-watering decider in Wellington this week. It’s the fourth time the Irish have beaten the All Blacks in their last seven meetings.
Speaking on Sky Sports NZ’s The Breakdown Wilson – who admitted Andy Farrell’s team were “clearly an outstanding side” – did however heavily caveat the historic win under the roof at the Forsyth Barr Stadium.
“Bottom line, in the first 40 minutes when they [Ireland] had the advantage, they should have put the game away. They didn’t.
“They let the All Blacks get themselves back into the game just before halftime. They could have come back and hurt them.
“They proved that they are a quality side. They did it in the second half. You felt in the first 10 minutes they took the game away from the All Blacks. But they needed to do that, because the All Blacks got a lift.
“They showed some character, but they [the All Blacks] put themselves in a difficult position.
“And Ireland did what England couldn’t do to Australia. And came back and proved they are an outstanding team.”
The former Test winger turned broadcaster admits he’s concerned about the All Blacks’ form heading into a Rugby World Cup year but doesn’t think a loss by a 14-man New Zealand is as big a deal as ’15-on-15′.
“You have to be concerned. The context of the match changed the moment when Angus Ta’avao was red-carded. So when you start thinking about what the All Blacks were having to face through the course of the remainder of that 80 minutes, it’s going to be difficult for them to get over the top of a team that is clearly world-class, that’s what this side [Ireland] are. Disciplined on defence, incredibly accurate.
“But when you’re a man down, it takes its toll.
“We’ve seen this happen before. It happened on a Lions series when we lost Sonny Bill Williams in the second Test match.
“The interesting part now is that the All Blacks will have some critical player available for the next weekend. David Havilli will be back on deck. Sam Whitelock, it looks like, is going to be back on deck. It makes a difference in what we’ll have in our forward pack.
“We need some answers for the front row and for the scrum.”
