Sunday, June 20, 2010
New Zealand Maori beat Ireland in seesaw battle
The Maori side marked their centenary year with the scalp of the Irish, who came back strong after being down 18-3 in the first half. The game looked as though it had gotten away from them at that stage, but they steadied the ship and incredibly lead the game 25-18 early in the second half.
Jonathan Sexton kicked 23 points for Ireland, but missed his first kick in the 73rd minute, a penalty that would have probably earned his side a draw.
With the win, New Zealand Maori added Ireland to their proud list of international victims, which includes England, France, Australia, and the British & Irish Lions.
"It's awesome for Maori rugby, what's happened," said Liam Messam. "It's a bit of history for Maori rugby so I'm proud of the boys. We can't wipe the smile of the boys' faces in the changing room at the moment. They're really stoked at what they've done."
Irelands captain on the night, Geordan Murphy, said that his side were sucked into the way that the Maori played and were too loose in the second half.
"We tried a couple of offloads when potentially we could have held on to the ball and put them under a bit more pressure. It's difficult when you play a game like that not to try to throw the 50-50 passes," he said.
Ireland head to Brisbane now to face Australia in a Test next weekend.
Time: 03:04
Posted at 10:40 am | 27 comments
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Viewing 27 comments
Benson June 20, 2010 9:26 am

Benson June 20, 2010 9:32 am

At least one of the things you said was correct.. and relevant. It was a great game indeed.
MartyMcFly June 20, 2010 10:14 am

ah paddy wallace if you added him and d'arcy together ireland would have a great 12 lol d'arcy runs up his own arse 90% of the time but is a strong defender and runner and wallace has a great brain and skills but just isnt enough of a physical presense.
How'd Ruddock go in this game? Big step in a few weeks from u20 world cup to pretty much a full test match.
Hopefully Ireland will put in at least a decent showing against the aussies. Not counting on that lol Murphy needs to start against them Kearney has went from the best 15 in the world to awful in less than 12months! Nice work Rob
Anonymous June 20, 2010 10:39 am

Stringer is the best / fastest passer in the world IMO (that's all he can really do, but he does it really well, and it is his main function) and gets the ball quick. Ireland could really have used some quick ball in that match.
-Ken Gardener
Anonymous June 20, 2010 11:10 am

Horgan has been terrible all season. He only starts for Leinster because Luke's injured. He's been slow and poor at tackling. In the Magners League Final he made an intercept and was chased down by Ryan Jones. He wouldn't be on tour if Earls/Luke were fit.
Matty10 June 20, 2010 11:11 am

2 Cronin
3 Court
4 O'Donaghue
5 O'Connel
6 Mclaughlin
7 Wallace
8 Heaslip
9 Boss
10 Sexton
11 Trimble
12 Wallace
13 O'Drisscoll
14 Bowe
15 Kearny
Third Centre June 20, 2010 12:04 pm

Not a bad performance by a second string irish team. Ref could've been a bit more balanced though. That Lowe try was great but that was some of the worst defending by an irish team since.....well, last week :)
Congratulaltions to the Maori on 100 years of great rugby. From ireland
BigBucks June 20, 2010 12:25 pm

Stringer is a let down in defence - not matter how much he tap tackles and isn't the best at breaking the line. The one thing i find great about him is his bullet pass and his speed of service which can give a team momentum - Based on that i think he's a great impact sub should the team slow down in momentum.
Dan June 20, 2010 1:37 pm

Buckley is a tighthead and is too big to play loosehead, McLaughlin is out injured, Heaslip is on a ban, and is Iassac Boss even on the tour? If its your Ireland dream team then you have dropped serious experience, Cronin a good player and all is third choice as of now, and leaving out Ferris is a joke! Also putting in Trimble and Walllace ahead of Fitzgerald and Earls is also a joke!
Anonymous June 20, 2010 3:04 pm

Worst plane ticket ever!
Anonymous June 20, 2010 3:19 pm

Canadian Content June 20, 2010 6:24 pm

Ireland for WC 2011 June 20, 2010 9:31 pm

on a different note,i think that first try for the maori shows perfectly the differense between the NH and SH.
a NH side,with a 2-man overlap,would have all drifted sideways and shunted the ball to their winger,who would gain about 10 yards,before being cut off by the defense.however,the maori player spots the drift defense and runs a beautiful short line,before drawing two players and oofloading for the score,until the NH sides become more tactically aware and intelligent in attack,they're always going to be second best
Anonymous June 20, 2010 10:00 pm

Stringer is a let down in defence - not matter how much he tap tackles and isn't the best at breaking the line. The one thing i find great about him is his bullet pass and his speed of service which can give a team momentum - Based on that i think he's a great impact sub should the team slow down in momentum.
No, I agree. With the physicality of most teams these days, O'Laoire's the best option. It's just that if you do decide to go for a passer at the expense of a good defender, why go for Reddan? His pass is slower that Stringer's and he's that much better of a defender.
O'Laoire is 1st choice though, no doubt.
-Ken Gardener
michael jackson's no June 21, 2010 5:11 am

Did he call Kidney's wife a cow or something? I don't get it, that's all...
michael jackson's no June 21, 2010 5:11 am

Did he call Kidney's wife a cow or something? I don't get it, that's all...
Litet Parlan June 21, 2010 9:54 am

Give the guy a break. The problem was with management not taking him off after he knocked himself out trying to tackle Gear early on. Looked like he was out cold. That he went on to play the whole match when clearly out of sorts is a failure of management not the player.
Sure he's past it as a first choice (or 2nd or 3rd) choice international wing. He's dropped back to "journeyman" status really.
With so many injuries I think they wanted an experienced player to bring on tour - he wont be in the squad for the Australia match... holding tackle bags for the rest of the tour and probably the last we'll see of him in an Irish jersey - but let's acknowledge his contribution over the years.
Third Centre June 21, 2010 10:01 am

The commentators on the Fox channel were quite a suprise, they knew the irish players names and and what clubs they played for. I was astounded. The commentators in this clip are a joke
Huh!! the 3rd June 21, 2010 2:23 pm

And Horgan has a terrible record for Ireland (65 caps, 20 tries, 1 try every 3 games). Can't kick (for ex GAA thats poor), can't tackle and can't run. Lets not let 3 tries v Eng in 7 apps mask what is an other wise average test winger. Hickie showed the way to leave, Horgan is just making a fool of himself by continuing.
Also, the 1st try came before he got knocked the fuck out.
evening June 21, 2010 6:42 pm

...it's not like his defense could be as bad as O'Gara or Quade Cooper.
Huh!! the 3rd June 21, 2010 8:40 pm

I couldn't include Habana or Giteau in my point because they are brilliant defenders. Really punch above their weight in D.
To think of it, SA are producing small(ish) wings too, in the shape of Aplon as you say, but also, The Bulls wing, name escapes me(van der herven or something) and de Jonge(centre).
If O'Gara can continually be picked then its hypocritical. Considering he's looking at 18 months of bench warming, and presuming you can have 1 bad defender, why not try Carr outside Sexton, I know a full strenght squad he'd be 5 or 6th choice, but as with this tour, you never know. Bar last week, even with ROG Ire weren't exactly leaking tries before. TOO CONSERVATIVE.
Anonymous June 21, 2010 11:57 pm

I'd say he was refering to Shane Horgan's late arrival in NZ after falling ill. Waste of the irfu's money to send him down separately or something.
evening June 22, 2010 1:04 am
















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