That they managed to brush aside their failure to once again make it past the quarter-finals last year was maybe not such a surprise, but the way they have so easily and readily transitioned to life without Sexton is.
Sexton was their everything for an age. He was their captain. He was their tactical general. He was their beating heart – the man whose incessant desire to win and be better drove everything around him.
For more than 15 years he was Ireland’s most influential figure and yet they farewelled him that night in Paris, unleashed a couple of youngsters at No 10 in February and went on to win the Six Nations before drawing a two-test series in South Africa.
It just hasn’t been a big deal for them moving on and if anything, their rugby in 2024 has had a sharper attacking edge than it did last year. That Ireland have managed to maintain all their attacking intricacy and keep winning without Sexton is a tribute to the strength of their entire rugby system.
It is, probably, evidence they are the best-set-up rugby nation in the world – that they have such an ingrained and easily understood way of doing things that they can lose the greatest No 10 they ever had and four months later play attacking rugby that is every bit as effective.
Asked to assess how he thinks Ireland have made the transition to playing without Sexton, All Blacks assistant coach Jason Holland said: “I think really well.
“They have got a couple of young 10s who are stepping up. They have obviously been in the environment for a long time, in and out, but they have slotted into the way Ireland play and they understand winning footy and Ireland play winning footy.
“I think they have transitioned really well. There are some pretty senior guys in and around the 10 at 12 and 13 and Jamison [Gibson-Park] at 9 has been around for a while. The transition looks pretty smooth from what I have seen.
“I think they are always evolving with their coaching team. They always have something new.
“You have always got to prepare for something a little bit new in what they do, but the guts of what they do around their attack shape and how they defend is very similar; but they are obviously trying to get better at it. Their attack is sharp, hard lines are difficult for teams to defend.”
And this is why there is a much bigger story at play in Dublin because the All Blacks, too, have lost their No 10 who started the World Cup quarter-final, but aren’t finding it as easy to make the transition to life without Richie Mo’unga.
There was a time, not so long ago either, that the All Blacks had enough depth in nearly every position to be confident about their succession planning.
And that included first five, as in 2013, when they lost Dan Carter, Aaron Cruden and Beauden Barrett to injury all at the same time and threw Colin Slade and Tom Taylor into action without skipping a beat.
But in 2024, unlike Ireland, they didn’t have a ready-made youngster such as Jack Crowley to throw into the breach and questions have to be asked about what has happened to New Zealand’s famed production line and whether as a rugby nation, Ireland are getting ahead.
Whereas Ireland have leaned into the next generation, the All Blacks have worked with the 29-year-old Damian McKenzie and 33-year-old Beauden Barrett.
So far, neither has proved to be a rip-roaring success. Both have their qualities and both have had their moments this year, but right now no one would bet the house on either being the All Blacks No 10 at the next World Cup.
And so far, neither has really been able to deliver precisely what the coaching group are after and again, unlike Ireland, the All Blacks haven’t been able to build and evolve their attack game from last year.
New Zealand’s issues in building on the levels they reached at the World Cup are not confined to only having to find a new No 10.
They have brought in a mostly new coaching and management group and perhaps some of the difficulties in finding their attacking flow this year are more about that than about the respective qualities of the No 10s.
There’s clearly talent coming through and signs that the system is not broken as Wallace Sititi has arrived in the test arena from the junior ranks and been a massive hit.
But it’s a system that is obviously imperfect because it hasn’t been able to spit out a few young 10s who look ready to take the step up to test level.
All Blacks v Ireland, Saturday 9.10am
Live commentary on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio. Live match blog at nzherald.co.nz
