This much hyped return to Chicago was damaging, both on and off the field, and potentially both in the short term and long term. The Rematch, as it was labelled in the build-up, did not live up to its billing from an Irish perspective, neither for the tens of thousands among the 61,000-plus sell-out crowd at Soldier Field, nor for the team.
The 26-13 defeat assuredly affected the experience of, it seemed, the largely disgruntled Irish supporters during what was at times a shambolic advertisement for the sport, but they could at least park that and enjoy Chicago’s night life.
For an acutely disappointed Andy Farrell and his players, the after-effects will have lingered into the journey home and may continue to be felt throughout the rest of a demanding month.
Soldier Field hasn’t changed a jot but the contrast postmatch in the bowels of the stadium compared with after the historic 40-29 win nine years ago could hardly have been starker.
READ MORE
Whereas back then the Irish squad celebrated joyously and noisily before happily filing along the mixed zone, this time they spoke wearily or traipsed quietly, heads bowed, to the exits. Meanwhile the All Black players smiled contentedly, leg one of the Grand Slam secured before a week in Edinburgh.
It’s said a team learns more from its defeats than its wins and Farrell concurred. “You have to. You need to be brutally honest because if you not, then you’re wasting an opportunity.
“There’s zero excuses from here on,” he added in reference to match sharpness. “That’s been and gone now, but we need to buckle down.”
Yet last autumn, in a four-match programme similar to this one, Ireland seemed a little damaged by their opening loss to New Zealand, and this third successive loss to the All Blacks could sting even more.
This month looks even more challenging now with games against Japan, Australia and South Africa over the next three Saturdays.
Farrell certainly did not shy away from that: “If we can’t stand up to that challenge, then we shouldn’t be here anyway.”
“They’ve got the opportunity to nail it down, haven’t they? I suppose this is a good window to see where we’re at. Where individuals are at. If that doesn’t get us excited as a group, nothing will.”
Farrell’s scope to delve deeper into his 36-man squad looks relatively restricted but this team needs restorative performances and wins.
Stuart McCloskey’s performance was a positive – “he was a handful, wasn’t he?” agreed Farrell – but the Ulster centre will probably be ruled out of next week’s game against Japan, and perhaps for even longer, with a groin injury. The trip home effectively makes it a six-day turnaround, which will probably lead to fresh legs being brought in.
“We’re back on Monday morning so that’s a day-ish missed with a bit of jet lag or whatever so we’ll see how people turn up when we do land back and what the mood is within the camp and how we rotate it from there,” said Farrell.
Ireland are likely to contest Tadhg Beirne’s harsh red card when the Munster lock faces a disciplinary hearing this week. Even Beauden Barrett disagreed with the decision by foul play review officer Dan Jones.
Eddie Jones’s Brave Blossoms are match hardened, having won three of four games in the Pacific Nations and played well in a 19-15 defeat to Australia a fortnight ago before losing 61-7 to a rampant Springboks on Saturday.
Ireland cannot afford to take them lightly, even more so now.
“We know how important the autumn is to us, particularly this next game now,” said Farrell. “If you look at the significance of world ranking points, playing against a side like Japan ... becomes massively important. So it’s about being honest with each other and making sure that we learn from that.”
When seeking a strong platform, much of the tight five could remain intact, and the match looks to be a gilt-edged opportunity to restore Caelan Doris to number eight following his encouraging return against the All Blacks off the bench.
Jacob Stockdale might also be given an opportunity, and ditto Craig Casey at scrumhalf, while it will be interesting to see how Farrell employs his two out-halves henceforth.
“I though he controlled the game pretty well,” said Farrell of Jack Crowley’s performance. “Accuracy and a few bits [could be improved], but good decision making.”
The head coach referenced Crowley’s slightly overcooked cross-kick for McCloskey on the left touchline. “I said to him at half-time, ‘good decision’. It was just execution. I thought he tactically played the game pretty well. He’ll be better for it.”
That said, Farrell appeared to believe that Crowley’s pass to Jamie Osborne just before the hour mark was too high, although on review from a different camera angle, Osborne’s knock-on appeared to be around his midriff.
“That’s actually a lovely line from Jamie. It was just poor execution and it pinged off his shoulder so we’ve obviously got to be better at that.
“There wasn’t too many opportunities for the attack but what we did have, we needed to convert that pressure into more points, that’s for sure.”
With Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi and Damian McKenzie giving New Zealand more impact off the bench, that pivotal moment was one of three Irish handling turnovers that led directly to tries by the All Blacks in the final quarter.
The Irish attack was not helped by five lost lineouts, the tone set by a mistimed lift for Dan Sheehan’s first dart, which Tadhg Furlong couldn’t gather at the tail.
“I suppose people are only human but at the same time, we work hard on not letting that type of stuff affect us,” said Farrell. “So, there’s one thing for sure, the New Zealand defensive lineout has been top drawer for a long time now so that’s always going to be part of it. We need to look at ourselves, first and foremost.”
The Irish defensive lineout did some damage too, with Ryan Baird making a couple of important steals. “That’s his forte isn’t it?” said Farrell. “He’s very athletic in that regard. So, he’ll be happy with some aspects of his game, definitely.”
