Irish fall short against All Blacks

Updated June 16, 2012 20:45:54

A Dan Carter field goal in the final minute of play saw New Zealand beat Ireland 22-19 in Christchurch, denying the tourists their first ever win over the All Blacks.

The score was deadlocked at 19-19 when the All Blacks were awarded a five-mete scrum inside the Irish half in the 80th minute and after winning the set-piece Carter coolly slotted the winning score.

The victory gives the All Blacks a 2-0 lead in the three-Test series.

Ireland had never beaten the All Blacks in their 25 previous encounters with a 10-10 draw in 1973 the closest it came in the 107 years they have been playing Tests and Saturday night's match at a chilly Rugby League Park was there for the taking.

The Irish lived up to their promise of being more aggressive in contact than they were last week in Auckland when they lost 42-10 and spent the first 20 minutes smashing into tackles at the breakdown.

They dominated the opening quarter and the decision to opt for a line-out in the corner instead of taking a kickable penalty shot at 0-0 paid off when half-back Conor Murray sniped around the blindside of a ruck and touched down for his first Test try.

Jonathan Sexton converted to give the visitors a 7-0 lead, which they built on eight minutes later after another sustained period of pressure allowed the fly half to punish an illegal block at the ruck by Owen Franks with his first penalty.

The 10-0 scoreline seemed to spark the All Blacks into action and as they built phases and dominated territory, the Irish gave away silly penalties, three of which Carter slotted between the posts to bring the All Blacks back to 10-9.

The All Blacks warmed the shivering crowd of 21,000 when they began the second half with renewed vigour, hammering at the Irish and holding the ball for several phases for Aaron Smith to get driven over in the corner for his maiden Test try.

Carter converted to give the home side their first lead of the match at 16-10, though that was quickly reduced when Sexton slotted his second penalty after the All Blacks had turned the ball over from the kick-off.

Carter and Sexton then traded penalties and with 15 minutes remaining, the match was either side's for the taking.

Sexton equalised with his fourth penalty and had an opportunity to give Ireland the lead when Israel Dagg was sin-binned for a late charge on Rob Kearney with eight minutes remaining, though the Leinster fly half's long distance attempt fell short.

The All Blacks, however, managed to get down field one last time and after a series of sustained attacks, the ball was tossed out to Carter, who lined up the drop goal from the pocket to preserve New Zealand's unbeaten record against Ireland.

New Zealand: 22 (A. Smith try; D Carter con, 4 pens, DG)

Ireland: 19 (C Murray try; J Sexton con, 4 pens)

Reuters/ABC

Tags: rugby-union, sport, ireland, northern-ireland

First posted June 16, 2012 19:28:54

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Brumbies fall short against Sharks

Updated March 31, 2012 22:51:54

The Sharks warded off a desperate last-gasp attack from the Brumbies in a nail-biting Super Rugby clash at Canberra Stadium to wind up 29-26 victors on Saturday night.

In an arm wrestle of a game, the visitors looked to have the match wrapped up at 29-19 with 10 minutes to go before the Brumbies scored in the dying minute through Nic White.

Then, after the siren having sounded, the home side played on for another five minutes and gained 50m in the hope of adding more points before finally turning the ball over.

The three-point victory was a significant one for the Sharks - their first away win this season and their first at Canberra Stadium since 1998.

For the Brumbies it was also noteworthy, but only in that it was their first defeat at home this season after four games.

The Brumbies had taken a 16-15 lead at half-time, but the Sharks set themselves up for victory early in the second half by piling on two tries through Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo.

In the end, it was enough to secure them victory in a game where the lead changed seven times.

The game was tight from the outset, but the Sharks were the first to draw blood when full-back Riaan Viljoen scored controversially on the wing in the 22nd minute after appearing to knock the ball on.

But the Brumbies were quick to wrestle back the lead and they did it in style.

Jesse Mogg pulled off the try of the night after leaping onto a team-mate's pass a good 50 metres out and then delivering a kick-and-chase that bounced perfectly over Odwa Ngundane's head and back into Mogg's hands just before the line.

Viljoen crossed again in the 35th minute to give the Sharks another lead, before the Brumbies stole it back before the break courtesy of a Christian Lealiifano penalty.

The Brumbies finished the night with more injury concerns, with Matt Toomua re-injuring his knee and Henry Speight also limping from the field.

Sharks: 29 (R Viljoen 2, W Alberts, L Mvovo tries; F Michalak 3/4 conversions, penalty goal)

Brumbies: 26 (J Mogg, N White tries; C Lealiifano 2/2 conversions, 4 penalty goals)

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-rugby, act

First posted March 31, 2012 21:52:27

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McCaw's comeback cut short

Updated April 21, 2011 13:36:00

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw's return from foot surgery has been cut short after he was ruled out of the Crusaders' Super Rugby clash with the Highlanders.

McCaw played 29 minutes in the Crusaders' 34-16 victory over the Chiefs last week in his first match back since having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot.

The 30-year-old flanker, however, suffered soreness after training on Monday and was not considered for the local derby against the Highlanders in Nelson on Saturday.

"The right thing to do is to rest Richie at this stage," Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said.

"It's not a serious problem. A week away from playing will do him good and we'll monitor him next week."

- Reuters

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-14, new-zealand

First posted April 21, 2011 13:15:00

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