Wellington was the scene of one of Irish Rugby’s darkest days. The 2011 quarterfinal match with Wales was pitched as Ireland’s best ever chance at qualifying for semi-final.
What transpired was an inspired Welsh performance which still sticks with Irish fans as a golden opportunity missed.
July 12th, 2022, has gone someway to dispelling those demons as an Ireland clinically put to sword a potent Maori All Blacks sides.
Led by the ever-green Keith Earls and inspired by classy performances from Craig Casey, Gavin Coombes, Jordan Larmour and Ciaran Frawley to name a few.
Ireland looked far more assured and confident in their combinations than the first fixture in Hamilton ten days ago.
Emerging with a 30 – 24 win, in a score line that is perhaps closer than it should be due to two late Maori tries, Andy Farrell and his coaching staff will be immensely happy with how much the squad depth has improved.
The Maori certainly played their part and had their moments with flashes of brilliance as one would expect from such a quality outfit.
Leading the way was fullback Ruben Love who shredded the Irish defence on several occasions.
One such occasion led to a world class try started and finished by Love as he tore through the Irish defence and had a quick interplay with number with Callum Grace.
As Grace through the offload back in field it was Love who was on hand to dive over the line to bring the Maori back into the contest.
Ireland would answer almost immediately as Jordan Larmour went in for his second try of the evening.
On the receiving end of a bullet pass from Ciaran Frawley, Larmour strolled in unchallenged as he once again highlighted just what he can bring to the green shirt.
Speaking of Frawley, he looked far more assured and commanding in the number ten shirt this evening.
His ability to play multiple positions has seen him gaining precious few minutes in the flyhalf channel this year. With the back-up role to Jonathan Sexton still up for grabs, Frawley could well push Joey Carbery for the role ahead of the World Cup.
Saturday night’s third test looms large for both countries, for Ireland two wins from five will certainly be seen as a success. A series win and three wins will go beyond any result achieved by an Irish side perhaps even rivalling any Irish sporting result across all codes.
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