All Blacks v Ireland: Why the Irish owe their greatness to New Zealand

The Irish face the haka in 2022. Photo / Photosport

Editorial

EDITORIAL

Without the challenge of rising to face the All Blacks it can fairly be said that the Irish rugby team would have struggled to scale the remarkable heights they have reached.

It took the Irish 111 years of trying to record a victory over the All Blacks. It’s claimed by some in Ireland there were times during that period that they fielded a team talented enough to topple the mighty men in black; gaps of a decade or more between fixtures were common. During those times, the All Blacks were elsewhere, playing teams generally better than Ireland and beating them.

It’s often claimed that the All Blacks’ remarkable legacy is built around clever scheduling; there’s a notion that NZ Rugby had the happy knack of arranging fixtures against opponents who were at a low ebb. This, of course, is nonsense.

The Irish have fielded some fine teams over the years, sides good enough to win four Grand Slams (on three of which occasions their sides went on to be humbled by the All Blacks the following year). But there’s no reason to think that the 111-year wait was anything other than an appropriate length of time for them to get their act together.

With Munster recording a famous win in 1978, Irish fans could have reasonably expected their side was on the verge – for season after painful season – of claiming the greatest scalp of all.

The desire to grow out of the shadow of the black jersey has driven the men in green to great things. It has done the same for other rugby nations, too.

Just as regular contact with the All Blacks strengthened the Wallabies in the second half of the 20th century, consistent exposure to the All Blacks has improved Ireland.

It took 101 years for the two sides to play their first 19 matches; they’ve rattled through the next 19 clashes in a breezy 18 years.

The New Zealand influence on Ireland’s growth as a rugby force goes even deeper than serving as inspiration.

Players who learned the game in New Zealand have for decades brought a Kiwi sensibility to the Irish game, at club level and in the national side. This trend has increased markedly with the introduction of professionalism in the sport.

Kiwi coaches have also been involved. When Ireland finally broke their All Blacks duck in Chicago, in 2016, they did so with a New Zealander coaching the side.

The shrewd Joe Schmidt instilled a degree of tactical acumen and defensive strategy in the Irish side that elevated them beyond the headlong passionate charges of old. Half of those four Grand Slams came in the years that followed Schmidt’s introduction to the top Irish side.

This has been the finest era in the history of Irish rugby, and – given the extent to which New Zealand has inspired and fuelled that growth – it’s fitting that the pinnacle of their finest era was the brilliant series win on these shores in 2022.

This morning’s contest will mark the latest instalment in Ireland’s well-deserved place at the top table of the global game.