The agony goes on. Ireland must wonder what they have to do to break this quarter-final curse, how long to spend as No 1 in the world, how many grand slams to win, how many victories in a row. Instead, let the record state: eight quarter-finals, eight defeats.
So much came to an end. Not just the dream of a World Cup semi-final; not just the career of Johnny Sexton, who wandered the pitch in tears at the end; not just a run of 17 consecutive Test wins, only one shy of the record held by England and, yes, these blessed All Blacks.
And for the All Blacks the record reads: nine quarter-finals, eight wins. How New Zealand have suffered themselves of late, toppled for some time from their perch as the perennial champions of all things rugby union. This may not mean a return to the top for them just yet –although they must feel a semi-final against Argentina is eminently winnable – but that familiar precision, that doggedness in defence, that nose for victory has been regained.
No one can deny they earned it. Few teams could have held out as they did through 37 phases of Irish attack at the death, the clock long turned red, exhausted runners coming at exhausted defenders from every which angle. Nothing doing. Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, now often supporting his teammates from the bench, swooped to win the game’s last penalty, on this his 151st appearance.
There was heroism everywhere in a fixture so enthralling it actually seemed to subdue by the end a Stade de France packed to the gunwales with Irish and Kiwis. But there could be no arguing with the result, even if the teams ran and muscled tries past each other in equal measure, three apiece.
Ireland showed confidence and nerve, riding the All Blacks’ deadly darts in a way they never would have only a few years ago, but they were loose in the details. Lineouts went astray, passes to ground. Do that against the All Blacks and expect to find yourself 13-0 down in no time. And so it was. Two penalties, one for Richie Mo’unga and another from halfway by Jordie Barrett, put New Zealand into an early lead. Then the brilliance.
Another of the Barrett brothers, Beauden, sparked it with a chip into space, which he gathered. With lightning speed, the ball was whisked left to Leicester Fainga’anuku, who found Rieko Ioane. The latter’s return ball inside was so fast and dextrous even Fainga’anuku must have been surprised to receive it, but he responded to take the ball over.
So New Zealand had the same early lead, 13-0, as they had held in that single, legendary defeat of theirs in a quarter-final, when France recovered to send them crashing out in Cardiff, 2007. We all know who the referee was then, too.
Wayne Barnes was certainly favouring the All Blacks in the early exchanges here, as he would again when New Zealand found themselves under the pump in the second half. But that started to change as Ireland responded with the confidence they have nurtured up there at the top of the world rankings. Sexton landed a penalty, straight from the restart. Six minutes later, he was converting their first try, after Bundee Aki stepped and smashed his way through five defenders to the line. Ship righted perhaps.
Alas, Ireland missed a lineout a few minutes before the break, not for the first time, and another deadly kick, this a 50-22 by Will Jordan, set the All Blacks up for the second, when Ardie Savea was worked over in the corner. But Ireland had time to respond before the break.
Aaron Smith’s deliberate knockdown earned him a spell in the sin-bin. Ireland went for the corner twice, and Jamison Gibson-Park nipped over round the side of a driven lineout to pull them back to 18-17 at the break.
The third quarter was all Ireland. And they emerged from it only further behind. All it takes is one mistake or one flash of magic – either side can argue which it was. Savea stymied the latest wave of Irish attacks to win a penalty over the ball. One neat lineout, one show-and-go by Mo’unga, one huge gap for him to run through. Ireland will not forgive themselves for allowing that off a set piece. Mo’unga was away, and he sent Jordan to the corner.
The Irish must have been despairing then, but they kept coming. Finally it told when they pulled back to within one again, a few minutes into the final quarter. Sexton, having just missed a penalty, sent another to the corner. Codie Taylor pulled down the driven lineout – penalty try and a yellow card.
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That proved to be as far as the green tide would lap. A Jordie Barrett penalty took New Zealand beyond a swing of Sexton’s boot. It had to be a try or nothing. The emptiness of the nothing that followed will echo for some time in Irish heads.
