Send in the clowns. The simple Kiwi rationale: no way Ireland are a better team without Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll. Just like there is no chance New Zealand are a superior entity now that Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu have passed into shadow.
The game moves swiftly on.
Neither O’Driscoll nor O’Connell ever won a June Test in the Southern Hemisphere. McCaw, Carter, Nonu, Smith, Woodcock and Mealamu never clocked up 18 successive Test victories.
"I think we learned so much from that last game against the All Blacks," says Johnny Sexton, when asked to discuss the agonising 22-20 defeat in November 2013. "I think it was the catalyst for our successes after it – look at back-to-back Six Nations, winning in Argentina and then the guys going and winning in South Africa."
That last ground-breaking victory also gained without Sexton, Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Seanie O’Brien.
Granted, the result lost much of its sheen after New Zealand pounded the Springboks 57-15 in Durban this month.
But still, November 2013 marked the beginning of this Joe Schmidt story.
“I think all of it stems from the lessons we learned from the Australia and New Zealand games,” adds Sexton. “As hard as it was to take I learned a lot from it personally. So did other players and the management. It is part of our story really.”
Missed penalty
He will never shy away from the missed penalty. The run up that seemed to take forever.
“I think about it quite a lot. I learned a hell of a lot from it...wish I could go back and take that one. You can’t. I became a better kicker for it. Would still love to go back and take it again. Hopefully I’ll get another chance at some stage.”
He already has. Since that day Sexton has landed five kicks at goal from the same position to put Racing 92/Ireland/Leinster two scores clear.
“We were in the exact same position against Australia, almost a year to the day. The difference was I got that kick and we managed to hold them out at the end. I remember Paulie making that big out-of-the-line tackle [on Ben McCalman], man and ball and we forced a turnover with Jamie and Mads.
“We learned from it and had a great victory against Australia.”
Sexton tells us Ireland were not fit enough in 2013.
“They play at that high pace for the whole game. You have to be able to live with that.”
If you can stomach it, go back and watch that relentless endgame. Both captains, McCaw and O’Connell, admitted to each other afterwards they were running on fumes. Turned out the New Zealanders’ desperation not to be the first All Blacks to lose to Ireland outlasted the Irish need to capture their greatest ever victory.
“We train a bit different now,” Sexton continues. “We train for that. Joe had only been in the job a couple of weeks. Now we are well used to his methods. We train almost faster than we play. It is more intense but for shorter periods of time. Everything is built towards those high intensive periods. He tries to fatigue us in training, to put us in those situations again. It probably all stems back to that one game.”
On Saturday week in Chicago and later in November these two nations meet again. The turnover in both squads is noticeable but the challenge is for the new Irish players to somehow match the stunning form of the new and currently invincible All Blacks.
“They have lost some of the best players who have ever played the game and it is like they never existed,” Sexton laughs. “The guys that have come in have just taken over. They obviously have a great culture.
“They are obviously the best team in the world, being talked about as the best team ever, and now we’ve got to go and try and stop the winning run.”
Perfect scores
Then comes the sort of off field inspiration Sexton has been producing on the grass since Croke Park in 2009.
“It would be typically Irish to win our first game against them in Chicago after the few weeks we have just had. To stop their winning run would be really Irish.”
He is referring to the fact New Zealand just completed the Rugby Championship with perfect scores. A try-scoring bonus point in every victory. Humiliated the Wallabies as well as South Africa. Enraged Michael Cheika. Even induced the game’s top referee Nigel Owens into making a rookie error.
Unbeatable. Unstoppable.
Ireland are coming in cold. Sexton, speaking yesterday as an Aer Lingus ambassador, has only played three-and-a-half games this season due to a worrying hamstring problem (as a precaution he didn’t place kick in Montpellier last Saturday).
Officially, Ireland have gathered for two training camps – 36 hours and 18 hours – since June. Even if the minutes of front line players are strictly monitored, it cannot possibly be enough time to trouble the greatest?
“Two small camps that have been really specific to put the plan in place.” says Sexton.
In 2013 nobody gave Ireland a prayer. Especially after being shredded a week earlier by Australia. There followed a heroic performance, seemingly, from nowhere.
“When we meet up and head over there we will have our walk through and three pitch sessions. That could be part of the story as well, we only had three pitch sessions and we won!”
