After leading 12-5 at the turnaround, Willie Faloon’s battling squad were unable to resist an unanswered five-try and 33-point spree by the Kiwis though they did finish the game strongly with late scores from winger Ethan Graham and centre Sean Naughton.
It had started so well for the Irish, scrum half Oliver Coffey once more opened their account before Jack Murphy, son of Ulster coach Richie, also claimed a try but after the out half’s 32nd minute effort they failed to register any further points until the 76th minute.
After absorbing some early pressure, Ireland made their way up the field and from a tapped penalty near the Kiwis’ line, Bryn Ward was held up short before Coffey dived over at the posts.
Murphy’s conversion went through, and two minutes after the half hour mark, following some strong defensive sets and a notable improvement in their scrummaging, the Irish grabbed their second score when Ben O’Connor countered and put Murphy away down the left.
The out half shrugged dotted down in the corner though was unable to convert his own score.
Then just after Ward’s 37th minute yellow card, Kiwi skipper Vernon Bason took a tap penalty and though it appeared the abrasive hooker had been held up by Brian Gleeson and James McKillop, the TMO awarded the score which went unconverted.
The half ended with Ireland leading 12-5 and during the interval the heavens opened in Cape Town.
Three minutes in, the All Blacks were reduced to 14 when winger Frank Vaenuku was yellow carded for tipping and dropping hooker Stephen Smyth though the immediate impact of this resulted in the start of the scoring surge.
Xavi Taele got on the end of Aki Tuivailala’s offload on 44 minutes. Then with Ireland about to return to full strength, Bason slid over the line for a second Kiwi score in two minutes though substitute Rico Simpson was only able to convert the first.
With the pressure increasing on Ireland, substitute Jeremiah Avei-Collins carried hard and strong straight through a tiring defence to make the line. Simpson’s conversion made it 24-12 to the Kiwis on 58 minutes.
The All Blacks turned up the heat again when Vaenuku profited from a cross-kick, Simpson converting to make sure of the result. Vaenuku then nailed a second, New Zealand’s sixth, with Simpson’s conversion taking their lead to 38-12 with less than 10 to go on the clock.
The pattern was finally broken with four minutes remaining, Ulster’s Ethan Graham sprinting clear and Sean Naughton did the same in the last minute.
Ireland: B O’Connor, D Colbert, F Treacy, H Gavin, H McLaughlin, J Murphy, O Coffey, E Calvey, S Smyth, A Mullan, A Spicer, L Murphy, J McKillop, B Ward, B Gleeson. Subs: M Yarr, B Howard for Calvey, A Sparrow, B Corrigan, M Flynn, J O’Riordan, S Naughton, E Graham.
