Ireland succumbed to one of the most humiliating losses of the Andy Farrell era on Friday night, when a sub-par performance saw their nineteen-game home winning streak come crashing to an end.
On a night when one of the season's most hotly-anticipated test clashes fell desperately short of expectations, Ireland's ill-discipline proved extremely costly, with Damian McKenzie kicking eighteen of the All-Black's twenty-three points from the tee.
Those eighteen points would ultimately prove the difference in New Zealand's 23-13 win, with Ireland's uncharacteristically muted attack crossing the whitewash just once and earning only six points from the spot.
While back at home New Zealand are garnering their fair share of praise after opening their Northern Hemisphere tour with two wins from two, the ever-critical All Black media haven't held back in their criticism of Ireland, slamming the performance as 'dire' and claiming it removed much of the 'satisfaction' of winning.
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All Black legend slams Andy Farrell's match-day preparation
Speaking on Sky NZ's The Breakdown, former All-Black Jeff Wilson slammed the passion shown in Ireland's pre-game anthem, claiming it was a far-cry from the desperation they'd shown in their now-infamous quarter-final loss to the same side a year ago.
If you look at (Ireland's) anthem, I didn't see the passion I saw last year in a Rugby World Cup, when you started seeing how desperate they were.
You heard them talking during the week about 'aw no we're not thinking about it, it's not a revenge game', their coach is talking about it, their captain is talking about it not being a revenge game.
I'm sorry if you're playing the All Blacks and its a game you want to win, you tap into everything you need to possibly win. You have to execute and you have to have motivation, its like they took some of the motivation out. 'Aw we'll just go out and execute', you took that away, they had nothing in that game.
Amhrán na bhFiann ✅
Ireland v New Zealand is live on Virgin Media One! #IREvNZL | #AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/n1Rti00Vyb— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) November 8, 2024
While such an accusation will undoubtedly make sobering reading for an Ireland team known for their passion, the New Zealand media who usually get a harsh rap for being either overly confident or totally catastrophic were far from suggesting all was lost for Farrell's men.
In fact, Wilson went as far as to suggest that Ireland's sub-par performance removed much of the satisfaction the All Blacks may have derived from beating a full-strength side.
Great result, (but) it didn't live up to expectations, the first forty minutes was dire.
You talk about adding to the fire, because Ireland didn't show up for this test match. (The win) was nowhere near as satisfying as its been because they (Ireland) were no where near their best.
Ireland were not there, they did not come and play anything like the best team in the world.
You can check out Wilson's comments from the two-minute mark here:
Despite Wilson's comments making grim listening for Irish fans who were hoping for a better occasion, they do offer some much-needed reprieve from the catastrophic narrative that's emerged in the aftermath of Farrell's first home loss in twenty clashes.
Regardless, Ireland have now just five days to prepare for Argentina's trip to the Aviva Stadium, where Farrell will have little choice but to muster some motivation among his squad if they're to salvage their November series.
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