Ireland 29-20 New Zealand: Andy Farrell’s side stun the All Blacks at delirious Aviva Stadium

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Matt Verri13 November 2021

Ireland produced a sensational performance to stun New Zealand and win 29-20 at the Aviva Stadium.

It was just Ireland’s third victory in 33 matches against the All Blacks, and marked the best moment of the Andy Farrell era so far.

A trio of late penalties from Joey Carbery ultimately proved crucial following tries from native Kiwi James Lowe, Ronan Kelleher and Caelan Doris.

The home side met the Haka by taking a collective stride forward before a rendition of The Fields of Athenry broke out among the stadium’s first capacity crowd for a rugby match in almost two years.

Despite requiring a remarkable combined tackle from Garry Ringrose and Andrew Conway to stop Jordie Barrett crossing early on, they deservedly went ahead in the immediate aftermath of Codie Taylor being sin-binned after catching Johnny Sexton’s head with a shoulder.

Quick ball from right to left culminated in Hugo Keenan teeing up Lowe to dive over in the left corner for the second-successive week.

The 15th-minute score increased the noise in the stands but was swiftly tempered by Beuaden Barrett slotting a penalty to reduce the deficit after Sexton missed the conversion.

After Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong had a try disallowed following incessant home pressure, the Kiwis broke and the returning Taylor latched on to Dalton Papalii’s pass to touch down, with Barrett adding the extras to ensure they led at the break.

They improved considerably on that front early in the second period.

Hooker Kelleher bulldozed over to level the scores at 10-10 with his sixth try from only seven international starts.

Sexton struck the posts with his conversion but made no mistake seven minutes later after flanker Doris exploited a gap in the All Blacks defence to charge clear into their 22 and dot down to the delight of the lively home crowd.

Despite Ireland’s prolonged dominance, the three-time world champions refused to roll over.

All Blacks winger Jordan helped bring them to within just three points, chipping over the top and then receiving the ball back from Rieko Ioane to zoom clear and touch down.

Sexton departed gingerly for a head injury assessment 15 minutes from time and replacement Carbery soon kicked a penalty to make it 23-17 during an influential cameo.

New Zealand threatened to steal what would have been a unmerited victory when Akira Ioane dotted down.

But that score was eventually ruled out for a forward pass and they had to settle for just the consolation of another Barrett penalty.

A couple more penalties from Carbery guaranteed a seventh-successive win, prompting a deafening noise from the delirious terraces followed by a lap of honour.

Additional reporting by PA

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