| Maori All Blacks (5) 24 |
| Tries: Stevenson, Penalty, Love, Weber Cons: Ioane |
| Ireland (17) 30 |
| Tries: Larmour 2, Timoney, Coombes Cons: Frawley 2 Pens: Frawley 2 |
Ireland’s midweek team avenged their defeat by the Maori All Blacks a fortnight ago with an impressive win.
Shaun Stevenson’s try put the Maoris ahead but Keith Earls’ quick lineout set up a reply by Jordan Larmour.
After Ciaran Frawley kicked five more Irish points, Nick Timoney’s converted try put them 17-5 ahead at half time.
A penalty try and superb Ruben Love score cut Ireland’s lead to 25-17 but Larmour’s second touchdown sealed the victory before Brad Weber’s late score.
Ireland’s deserved victory in wet conditions in Wellington should further boost morale after the superb second-Test win against the All Blacks which set up this weekend’s series decider.
Despite a slippery ball that led to numerous handling errors, the teams served up an entertaining contest which was punctuated by yellow cards for try-scorers Larmour and Stevenson as well as Ireland back row Cian Prendergast and Maori prop Ollie Norris.
The Irish made a sloppy start as they knocked on and then conceded a free kick and a penalty in the opening two minutes with the Maoris punishing the errors as Stevenson ran past an outnumbered Michael Lowry to touch down in the left corner.
However, the Irish were in front by the eighth minute as first-time captain Earls caught the home side napping with a quick lineout which allowed Larmour to run in unopposed, with the excellent Frawley adding the extras.
Frawley punished Kurt Eklund’s breakdown transgression with another three points in the 26th minute and both sides were down to 14 after the sin-binnings of Prendergast and Norris, when Timoney ended a period of intense Irish pressure by stretching to score.
More brilliant breakdown work by Timoney yielded three further Irish points following the restart to put them 20-5 ahead but the Maoris hit back immediately as they were awarded a penalty try after Larmour had tackled Connor Garden-Bachop when he was about to receive a try-scoring pass.
Larmour’s yellow card put the visitors down to 14 gain but they ran down the clock in savvy fashion during his absence, helped by a series of scrums, before the superb Gavin Coombes notched their third try with one of his typical close-range finishes.
Love’s sensational own break from his own 22 set up his own 70th-minute try as he also superbly exchanged passes with Cullen Grace.
However with Stevenson then yellow carded – seemingly harshly – after being adjudged of a deliberate knock on, Larmour ran in his second try in the right corner to seal Ireland’s win before Maori All Blacks replacement Weber had the final scoring say in injury time.
Maori All Blacks: Moorby, Stevenson, Sullivan, Nankivell, Garden-Bachop, Ioane, Perenara (captain); Norris, Eklund, Lomax; Selby-Rickit, Walker-Leawere; Prinsep, Harmon, Grace.
Replacements: Apisai, Williams, Renata, Howden, Delany, Weber, Love, Proctor.
Ireland: Lowry; Larmour, Earls (capt), McCloskey, O’Brien; Frawley, Casey; Loughman, Scannell, O’Toole, McCarthy, Treadwell; Prendergast, Timoney, Coombes.
Replacements: Herring, Byrne, Bent, Baird, Conan, Murray, Carbery, Hansen.
