What are these players in black like?. Los All Blacks They arrive at the World Cup, lose the first game and create doubts among their fans. They then give away a few beatings and in the first round they send home the rival who was presented as the favorite. Tonight they did it in a clash with excitement until the last moment, almost like staggering gunmen.
The New Zealanders are already – again – in the semi-finals eliminate an Ireland that could have won and lost with greatness. Barren consolation for an eternal curse. Once again, and there are now eight who have played this round, the XV of clubs He hasn’t been able to get past the quarterfinals.
The first major battle of an exhausting encounter was fought in the Irish 22nd. Up to thirty phases linked New Zealand, converted into a tunnel boring machine. And the defense resisted many others. The black striker had to settle for three points (0-3) from a penalty shot in front of the green wall. The game, back and forth, went to the other end of the field. And there the Irish obtained no fruit. Nor on the second raid, when the ball was lifted one meter from the line. Worrying.
Ireland seemed outmatched on the ground and in discipline – five hits committed in 17 minutes and 0-6 – but they devoured meters when they turned on their associative game. The first blow was, however, New Zealand. A hanging kick recovered by the defender gave way to a numerical superiority along the wing and a try by the flanker Fainga’anuku (0-13 in the 20th minute).
But this Ireland has a virtue that it has built in recent years: it plays by memory. And they also have two veteran midfielders who took control of the game at the worst moment. Sexton reduced the distance with his foot (3-13) and between him and Gibson – Park they began to launch deep attacking screens, to move the ball, to feed the vertical Bundee Aki, who in one of his starts ended up posing (10-13 ).