Stephen Ferris has expressed his dismay that New Zealand escaped punishment for their cynical play at the breakdown in yesterday’s 38-18 victory over Ireland.
‘Streetwise’ is the term used to describe the All Blacks’ mastery of slowing down or killing opposition ball, yet rivals often question how they evade greater censure from referees.
That sense of injustice lingered at the Aviva Stadium where Ireland’s final-quarter siege was repeatedly undermined by the grand slam-chasing tourists’ unwillingness to concede quick ball.
Even when a yellow card seemed inevitable, referee Marius Jonker refused to fill the sin-bin, leaving Ferris to admire and resent their adeptness at spoiling in equal measure.
“If I’d been a referee I would have handed out a couple of yellow cards,” said the Lions blindside flanker, a try scorer in the first half.
“It’s hard because when you’re in the middle of the pitch you get fast ball, but when you’re in their 22 it keeps getting killed.
“It’s the same old faces that are doing it, but they’re good at it and get away with it. Richie McCaw did a great job at slowing it down.
“Peter Stringer was screaming at the referee a couple of times to try and get the ball away quicker. It’s frustrating, but they’re also good at poaching the ball legally.”
The obviousness of New Zealand’s methods made Jonker’s refusal to reach for his cards baffling, but the South African’s inaction hardly affected the outcome.
A salvo of two tries in four minutes scored by Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock shortly after half-time gave the All Blacks an unassailable 33-13 lead.
Ireland’s response was to rattle the tourists, who were left scrambling furiously, with Brian O’Driscoll’s sensational one-handed pick-up and finish rewarding their endeavour.
Attacking with exuberance and defending heroically, it was probably their best display of a troubled year yet they still fell well short of a first victory in the fixture in 24 attempts.
Ireland initially refused to take solace from having subjected the All Blacks to such a difficult evening, instead focusing on the result, but Ferris gleaned some satisfaction.
“The scoreline maybe flattered them a bit,” said the Ulster player. “There were a lot of tired bodies afterwards but New Zealand knew they had had a tough game too. It was fast and furious and a good spectacle.
“Speaking to everyone in the dressing room afterwards it didn’t feel like we had lost by 20 points. It felt like we’d lost by a few points.
“I know what the result says but the boys felt it was a lot closer and we’ll take great confidence out of the performance.”
For Ferris, it was New Zealand’s ability to keep the scoreboard moving that ultimately set them apart.
“We defended for a lot of the game. When New Zealand had an opportunity they took it,” he said.
“When we made a mistake they capitalised quickly, getting three points or a score. We were playing catch-up a bit in the second half.
“We had them under the pump for a while in the final quarter but that spell after half-time when they scored two tries showed what New Zealand can do.
“One minute you’re three points behind and the next it’s 20. We learnt a lot from the match.
“If we’d cut out those silly errors and got our heads right for the 10 minutes after half-time it could have been completely different.
“New Zealand scored some good tries and were very clinical. We have to be more like that ourselves.”