New Zealand 17 Ireland 0:They were clinging on for dear life at times but the Irish under-20s can take solace from a game that ultimately slipped away off the back of two questionable decisions by French referee Jerome Garces.
New Zealand sealed victory with second-half tries from Winston Stanley and Shaun Treeby, but it was the open challenge to the Haka that ensured a bitter contest in front of 4,447 spectators at the Mizuho Rugby Ground in Nagoya.
The sight of officials attempting to restrain the green line as it approached the Maori war dance was strangely described as “foolhardy” and “ungracious” by veteran commentator Nigel Starmer-Smith, despite blatant similarities to French actions prior to the 2007 World Cup quarter-final in Cardiff.
Clontarf winger Michael Keating almost touched down in the opening seconds after a clever chip by scrumhalf Matthew Healy but it was the Kiwi’s superior physicality that gradually began to tell.
However, they only had an Aaron Cruden penalty to show for their first-half dominance, missing five kicks at goal in total. Despite an excellent break by promising Ulster centre Nevin Spence, Ireland failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage after fullback Robbie Robertson was sin-binned for tackling Ian Madigan in the air.
Stanley rolled over for the first try 13 minutes into the second-half; Garces initially signalling for a held up ball before his touch judge informed him otherwise. Roberston, New Zealand’s third place-kicker, made it 10-0 from wide out.
The decisive try came after Spence was incorrectly yellow carded for counter-rucking with Treeby powering through a Shane Gahan tackle moments later.
Certainly an improvement on the 65-10 defeat to the same opposition last year, Ireland face Uruguay in their final Pool match on Saturday with captain Peter O’Mahony set to return from suspension.
Scoring sequence— 12 mins: A Cruden pen, 3-0. Half-time. 53 mins: W Stanley try, 8-0; R Robinson conv, 10-0; 63 mins: S Treeby try, 15-0; R Robinson conv, 17-0.
Ireland:I Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster); D Kearney (Lansdowne/Leinster), N Spence (Ballynahinch/Ulster), E Sheridan (Lansdowne/Leinster), M Keating (Clontarf/Leinster); I McKinley (UCD/Leinster), M Healy (Lansdowne/Leinster); J McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster), T Sexton (Old Belvedere/Leinster), A Macklin (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster); C Ruddock (Neath/Exiles, capt), M Flanagan (UCD/Leinster); D Ryan (Lansdowne/Leinster), B O'Hara (UL Bohemians/Munster), R Ruddock (Millfield School/Exiles). Replacements: C Murray (Garryowen/Munster) for M Healy, S Gahan (Lansdowne/Leinster) for E Sheridan (both 60 mins), D McGregor (Ballynahinch/Ulster) for T Sexton, P McAllister (Ballynahinch/Ulster) for J McGrath (both 65 mins), A Burke (Garryowen/Munster) for D Kearney, D O'Callaghan (UCC/Munster) for B O'Hara (both 70 mins), J McGrath for A Macklin (72 mins), J Moran (Galwegians/Connacht) for M Flanagan (78 mins).
New Zealand:R Robinson; N Tuitavake, W Stanley, T Taylor, Z Guildford; A Cruden (capt), F Wilson; W Ioane Afuvai, B Mitchell, M Fia; D Faleafa, L Price; T Boswell-Wakefield, B O'Connor, E Dixon. Replacements: L Talakai for W Afuvai (9 mins), S Treeby for T Taylor (60 mins), A Ryan for L Price, B Hall for T Boswell-Wakefield (both 64 mins), K Pisi Siaosi for Z Guildford (65 mins), S Tamati for B Mitchell, N Falamoe for F Wilson (both 70 mins).
Referee:Jerome Garces (France).
