First Half Errors Leave Ireland With Too Much To Do Against Māori All Blacks

Injuries to James Hume and Cian Healy compounded a disappointing start to the summer tour for Ireland as they lost 32-17 to the Māori All Blacks in Hamilton.

Match Photo Gallery: Māori All Blacks 32 Ireland 17

Captain Bundee Aki and Gavin Coombes both touched down, the latter’s 66th-minute effort proving to be the only score of the closing half, but Ireland were left to rue an error-strewn second quarter.

Leading 10-8 in wet conditions, a combination of Irish penalties and turnovers – both expected given the short preparation time for this largely inexperienced side – gave the Māori the platform to show their attacking class.

The hosts’ counter-attacking was particularly impressive, out-half Josh Ioane, who kicked 12 points, darting through from deep to send Shaun Stevenson over in the 28th minute.

Co-captain Brad Weber and Cullen Grace followed up with two more converted tries, the second one coming from a brilliant Stevenson-inspired break and good work by Billy Harmon in supplying the assist.

Having leaked 24 unanswered points, Ireland rallied on the restart and their improved play produced a handful of close-range opportunities which they failed to take.

Number 8 Coombes, the tourists’ best player on the night, deservedly crossed with Healy on the latch. Despite some further promising passages of play, those injuries and individual errors made for a frustrating finish.

“The Māori All Blacks thoroughly deserved the win,” said head coach Andy Farrell afterwards. “It was a tale of two halves, I think discipline was an issue for us, we sorted it a little bit out at half-time and played some really good stuff in the second half.

“We left two or three tries out there we should have done better with. We’re disappointed, we know it was a big week for the Māori boys but it was a big week for some of our guys playing for Ireland for the first time.

“The lessons learned will be brilliant going forward. Some of our lads have tasted it for the first time, and will get another crack in a couple of weeks’ time.”

He added: “There were some brilliant performances. We had a guy who stepped off a plane a couple of days ago (Niall Scannell) and fronted up brilliantly for us. We have young kids playing 80 minutes for the first time in an Irish shirt.

“There was some really good stuff from certain individuals, and a lot of dumb stuff along the way, which is brilliant as far as our learnings are concerned. That’s what you have to iron out if you want to make it to the top.”

The Ireland management will get those injuries assessed – Jeremy Loughman and Coombes also came off with knocks – as the focus quickly turns to Saturday’s first Test against New Zealand at Eden Park.

There were poignant scenes before kick-off as Aki, back at the ground he graced with the Chiefs, presented an Ireland number 11 jersey to mark the death of Māori All Black Sean Wainui last October.

Following the Māori Te Timatanga haka, Wainui’s widow Paige and children, Kawariki Te Raiona and Arahia, collected the Ireland shirt on the halfway line.

Uncapped full-back Jimmy O’Brien gathered his first high ball and Hume opened up the defence with a midfield bust, Ireland’s solid start capped by a scrum penalty and three points from an assured Frawley strike.

There were ominous signs, though, when Farrell’s charges leaked penalties in and around their 22 and Ioane made it three-all with seven minutes on the clock.

Māori full-back Zarn Sullivan had some key moments, his terrific 50:22 kick and quick ball generated off the lineout leading to him stepping inside Cian Prendergast for a 16th-minute try.

Jordan Larmour was fingertips away from collecting an O’Brien chip for a quick-fire score in response, yet Ireland regained the lead midway through the first half with a crisp first-phase move from a lineout.

Nick Timoney and Coombes linked, with the Skibbereen man’s nicely delayed pass putting Aki through from the edge of the Māori 22 and he used the slippery surface to go in under the posts. Frawley converted to make it 10-8.

Too many soft penalties, with Ireland a little overeager in defence, allowed Clayton McMillan’s side to force the issue. Ioane made up for a penalty miss with a well-directed kick from further out to retake the lead.

From there up to the interval, they clinically put their chances away. The excellent Sullivan beat O’Brien to a high ball to launch an attack which ended with Stevenson outpacing the covering Frawley for the right corner.

Craig Casey tried to lift his team-mates with a sniping run, but the Māori were winning the breakdown battle and punishing missed tackles. Weber soon scored from a close-in ruck, taking advantage of an untimely slip by Tom O’Toole.

Ioane also added the extras to Grace’s late breakaway try, Sullivan the instigator again after a loose kick from O’Brien. Stevenson’s speed and some neat tidying up by Harmon gave the number 8 a clear path to the try-line.

The next score was very much needed by Ireland who began the second period with a 22-point deficit to overcome. An early Aki charge-down and subsequent turnover got them on the front foot.

Crucially, they failed to come away with points from a sustained bout of pressure. Dave Heffernan fumbled a tap penalty five metres out, Prendergast was then held up as well Timoney just a few phases later.

However, with their attack sharpening up, Ireland’s persistence was rewarded past the hour mark. By that stage they had lost centre Hume, while Michael Lowry, Ryan Baird, the newly-arrived Scannell and Joey Carbery had come on.

It was the Māori team’s turn to lose their discipline, leading to a warning from referee Wayne Barnes, and following a quick tap from Scannell, Coombes forced his way over with Frawley converting.

The stop-start nature of the second half did little for Ireland’s momentum, though, and they were rocked by the departure of replacement Healy who got his right leg trapped under a tackle.

The Māori looked to kill off the game, but replacement Ruben Love hit the post with a penalty and sent a drop goal wide. Ireland’s usual high level of accuracy was also missing, Frawley overcooking a touchfinder and a final attack was foiled by another knock-on.