Rugby World Cup: Ireland have the priceless qualities the All Blacks once had - Gregor Paul

OPINION

By Gregor Paul in Lyon

Ireland, it would seem, are now destined to meet the All Blacks in a World Cup quarterfinal and, Ireland, it would seem, are in possession of the priceless qualities the All Blacks once had but appear to have lost.

What Ireland have is self-belief in who they are and how they want to play. They have total faith in their game-drivers, their coaching staff and their strategic approach.

To a man, they know their individual roles and how they fit into the collective and most importantly, what makes them look every inch the most likely team to push on win this World Cup, is their ability to stay phenomenally disciplined under pressure and make such calm and accurate decisions in the big, big moments.

They won their epic pool match against South Africa not because they played the better rugby, but because they handled the pressure better.

It was a stunning show of resilience from them because their lineout failed. It was a mess – and so much of their attack play is built around winning quality lineout ball.

Their scrum was pretty much done over, too. They couldn’t handle the power of the South Africans and their scrum was bending and wobbling - presenting itself as inferior which is a death trap at this tournament where referees will penalise on perception of dominance as much as the reality of it.

But how brilliant were Ireland at the defensive breakdown? How good were they at getting a body over the ball and disrupting or stealing South Africa’s possession?

James Lowe, a player considered defensively frail when he was in New Zealand, played like he was made of titanium.

He pulled off a couple of turnovers out wide and then, almost unbelievably, hit Eben Etzebeth with enough power to lift the giant lock and then keep him off the ground to win the maul.

And when, after a prolonged pick and drive series by Ireland close to the South African line, created space out wide, it was Lowe who popped up at first receiver to then calmly and perfectly make a swift pass for Mack Hansen to score.

Lowe’s efforts epitomised what Ireland were all about – defensive tenacity and accuracy in every part of the field. Composure when it mattered.

James Lowe was a standout performer in Ireland's win over South Africa. Photo / Getty Images

It wasn’t just that they tackled and tackled and gave South Africa so little space, it was the way they defended with such relentless discipline that mattered.

They conceded just nine penalties, an astonishing result given how hard the Springboks were squeezing them midway through the second half and through the last 20 minutes.

When the ‘Boks squeezed the All Blacks at Twickenham before the World Cup, New Zealand fell apart. They conceded 14 penalties in total and were shown two yellows and one red card.

And these stats perhaps tell the story best of why Ireland, on what they have produced so far this tournament and indeed over this entire World Cup cycle, will start as favourites if, and presumably when, they meet the All Blacks in the quarterfinal.

Ireland have learned what was once a great All Blacks trait of being able to find ways to win big games.

They have become the masters at absorbing pressure and then pouncing when their chance to strike back presents itself.

The All Blacks, who went through a four-year period between 2012 and 2016 losing just four tests, used to have the mental resilience to stay in the fight even if they were being hammered in a few key facets of a test.

But that’s the skill which has been lost in the last five years or so and their performance against France in the opening game of this World Cup, hasn’t built confidence that they will be able to hang tough the way Ireland did.

It’s not that the All Blacks are incapable of showing the same sort of resilience and calm under pressure as Ireland, or that they can’t defend for such prolonged bouts with the same precision to stay onside, for the tackler to roll away and for the jackalers to come through the gate and stay on their feet.

It’s just we haven’t seen the All Blacks, not in the last five years at least, do that in the same way, to the same intensity as Ireland produced in Paris against South Africa.

There is no recent history or long body of evidence to be confident the All Blacks have the same depth of resilience as Ireland.

The picture on that front is too mixed to be certain what might happen in a quarterfinal.

The All Blacks did brilliantly to absorb a South African resurgence at Ellis Park last year and they found a way to win in Melbourne when they were behind in the last minute.

But the double Twickenham meltdown – last year against England and this year against South Africa – as well as the opening game of the World Cup, are evidence of this All Blacks team carrying a frailty that manifests as ill-discipline when they are put under intense pressure.

An epic encounter awaits between two teams who will test each other for 80 minutes, but Ireland have so far looked the more comfortable when they have been taken to the edge of their limits.

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sport.

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