Andy Farrell rues Ireland inaccuracy in defeat to New Zealand

Michael Bolton

Head coach Andy Farrell rued an error-strewn display after Ireland suffered a 40-21 defeat to New Zealand in round three of the Nations Championship.

The All Blacks scored four first-half tries through Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Asafo Aumua en route to stretching their remarkable unbeaten run at Eden Park to 53 Test matches.

Jack Conan crossed for Ireland in a punishing first half before Joe McCarthy and Hugo Keenan went over in an improved second period, with fly-half Sam Prendergast slotting all three conversions.

But, following unconvincing bonus-point wins over Australia and Japan, Farrell’s men were well beaten in Auckland after Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown added further scores for the hosts.

“Inaccurate is the word,” said Farrell, speaking to ITV.

“Continuity, it just wasn’t flowing for all sorts of reasons, whether that be discipline reasons, spilt ball, throwing the ball into touch, et cetera.

“The character and fight is there for all to see, hence the comeback and win against Australia, but you can’t make so many errors against a quality side like New Zealand. Congratulations to them.”

Ireland were back on New Zealand soil for the first time since their historic 2-1 tour success in 2022.

They were beaten 42-19 at Eden Park during that series and have now lost four successive matches against the All Blacks, including in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Following earlier victories over France and Italy, New Zealand have won three games in a row under new head coach Dave Rennie.

Farrell said: “Dave is a fantastic coach, you can see what they are trying to do.

“With the speed of ball and movement, it was hard to handle for us. We have got to look at how we adapt and do things better.

“It’s the end of the season now for us, we will re-assess and make sure we learn these lessons, because otherwise what’s the tour for?

“All these experiences are fantastic, coming to the southern hemisphere, which is where the World Cup is going to be (next year) – we need to learn those lessons.”