Ireland suffered further disappointment at the hands of New Zealand as their 19-match winning streak in Dublin was ended by a 23-13 defeat.
Andy Farrell’s side were facing the formidable All Blacks for the first time since last year’s agonising 28-24 World Cup quarter-final loss in France.
A 37th international try from full-back Will Jordan helped deny the hosts a modicum of revenge, adding to six penalties from fly-half Damian McKenzie as the Kiwis again came out on top.
Ireland, who had won five of the last nine meetings between the nations, looked rusty for large parts of a sold-out Aviva Stadium encounter which was more attritional than electric.
The Six Nations champions briefly threatened to click into gear but failed to build on Josh van der Flier’s score at the start of the second half, which was supplemented by eight points from Jack Crowley, as they were knocked off the top of the world rankings.
Talk of last year’s thrilling Stade de France showdown fuelled the build-up to a fixture which has developed into a genuine rivalry in recent years after being dominated by the All Blacks for more than a century.
Cast in the role of pantomime villain following his well-publicised spat with former Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton in Paris, Kiwi centre Rieko Ioane received some jeers as he led the haka, which the home team stared down from a distance before eventually striding forward to meet.
Andrew Porter’s early charge-down further fired up the capacity crowd before Crowley and McKenzie exchanged penalties in a relatively scrappy opening punctuated by errors.
Simmering tensions threatened to boil over in the 13th minute during a scuffle involving Kiwi captain Scott Barrett and Ireland lock Joe McCarthy.
Gladiator II actor Paul Mescal was pictured enjoying the conflict from the comfort of the terraces but, on the pitch, his country were beginning to lose the battles.
New Zealand were in the ascendency for large parts of the first half and it required some last-ditch defending to prevent them fully capitalising.
Scott Robertson’s side led just 9-6 at the break after McKenzie slotted a couple more penalties before Crowley’s boot cut the deficit, on the back of Jordie Barrett being sin-binned for a high tackle on Garry Ringrose.
That incident briefly shifted the momentum and Ireland were rewarded for a rapid start to the second half by Van der Flier plundering the game’s opening try.
Yet just a point separated the sides by the time All Blacks centre Barrett returned after McKenzie landed a long-range penalty before later striking the posts with a similar attempt.
Ireland’s repeated infringements were quickly becoming costly as the stop-start contest started to slip away.
All Blacks number 10 McKenzie, playing in place of the concussed Beauden Barrett, made no mistake with his next two penalties, leaving the home side 18-13 down going into the final 15 minutes.
Farrell’s men offered little in response and were swiftly facing a first home defeat since being beaten by France in the 2021 Six Nations.
Hugo Keenan’s tackle denied Mark Tele’a on New Zealand’s right wing but the ball was quickly recycled for the jet-heeled Jordan to dart clear on the left and deliver the knockout blow.
PA
