All Blacks overwhelm ill-disciplined Irish
The All Blacks punished Ireland for moments of ill-discipline with a commanding 66-28 victory on Saturday as the tourists played most of the high-paced Test with 14 men.
The nine-try romp in New Plymouth was a record score for the All Blacks against Ireland, bettering the 63-15 win in Dublin 13 years ago and keeping their unbeaten record against Ireland intact after 23 Tests dating back 105 years.
All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter -- with a 100 percent record from seven conversions and a penalty -- became only the fourth player to join the global elite 1,000 points club as he climbed to third on the all-time scoring ladder.
Ireland were clearly second best in the first 14 minutes when they trailed 10-0 and any hopes they had of salvaging the situation disappeared when Jamie Heaslip was red-carded, and Ronan O'Gara was sin-binned soon after.
It was a signal for the All Blacks to step up the pace and stretch the remaining 13 Irish players on the field, and by half-time they led 38-7.
Despite the overwhelming scoreline, the All Blacks will be disappointed how they finished the game, with Ireland able to come back with three tries in the final 25 minutes.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, the target of the kneeing that saw Heaslip removed from the game, said Ireland paid the price for ill-discipline.
"The disappointing part is it put them under pressure. It was their first attacking move and they were down to 14 men and the game was over after that," he said.
"It makes it hard on your team when ill-discipline gets in the way."
Ireland coach Declan Kidney said his side "let ourselves down" with further ill-discipline from misdirected passes and poor handling adding to their woes, while captain Brian O'Driscoll described the performance as "a bad defeat".
"But I'm a positive person and you have to take what good things you can out of every game and there were certainly some of those in the second half," O'Driscoll added.
As the points mounted for the hosts, Carter signalled he was returning to his best form after an indifferent Super 14 series, kicking 17 points in the match.
With less than 30 minutes to play and the All Blacks holding an unassailable 52-7 lead, Carter was replaced to allow Aaron Cruden to make his debut as the All Blacks blooded six new players through the match.
Without the star playmaker calling the shots the All Blacks lost focus and Ireland put aside their one-man disadvantage and struck back with three tries.
Ireland's woes were not helped by losing Mick O'Driscoll and John Muldoon to injury in the first half, although O'Driscoll's replacement Dan Tuohy marked his Test debut with a 25-metre run for a try with his first touch of the ball.
It was a feat more than matched by All Blacks substitute lock Sam Whitelock, a late addition to the All Blacks squad because of injury to Tom Donnelly.
Whitelock, too, scored a try with his first touch of the ball when he came on early in the second half, and he scored a second try late in the game.
Despite the one-sided nature of the game, the All Blacks did not do enough to show they have completely addressed the early-season errors that have riddled their recent past.
Apart from a momentary defensive lapse when Tuohy was able to scamper 25 metres for his try, the All Blacks defence was rock-solid while Carter was marshalling the forces.
But Ireland were able to cash in on the All Blacks' slowness to reorganise themselves without Carter, and their swift-passing backs controlled the final quarter.
For the All Blacks, Conrad Smith, Jimmy Cowan and Whitelock scored two tries apiece with Kieran Read, Ben Franks and Neemia Tialata also touching down.
Ireland's tries came from Tuohy, Brian O'Driscoll, Tommy Bowe and Gordon D'Arcy, with Ronan O'Gara converting all four.
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