It felt destined. In 2013, the halftime score was 22-7. On Saturday, the halftime score was 25-8. We knew the backlash was coming. It didn't happen quite when we expected but it did come. When Shane Ross tweeted about hosting the 2023 World Cup at 30-8 and Olé began to reverberate around Soldier Field, the All Blacks woke up. In what felt like mere moments, 30-8 became 33-29. It was just a matter of time really.
Ireland playing a stormer here in Chicago . 30-8 . Roll on full time and the rugby World Cup in Ireland 2023!!
— Shane Ross (@Ross_Shane1) November 5, 2016
But then something unexpected happened. Rather than break, Ireland bent and pushed back. It started with a bruising Ultan Dillane linebreak. It crescendoed with a kick and chase from Zebo. It peaked with a hulking tackle from Conor Murray. Minutes later Henshaw was over the try line and Ireland had the game won.
The physical and tactical work had been done in the previous 70 minutes. What happened in the last 10 was a triumph of Irish self-belief and will power. And that comes from Joe Schmidt. He was the architect of this win. The players will be lauded but Schmidt managed to teach this team how to beat this All Blacks team.
Ireland fans tired of Joe Schmidt after the World Cup ended like all Irish World Cups do. The Six Nations was middling even though the fixtures were arduous. #SchmidtOut was a thing - a small thing, but still a thing - at least until the Springboks were beaten.
Awful selection from Joe Schmidt #SchmidtOut #irishrugby #MoreConservativeThanaThatcherGovernment #boringboringireland #rugby #6Nations
— James Lynch (@LynchieSoup) March 10, 2016
There was the yearning for offloads, for new faces, for a style play that's easier on the eye. And despite being linked all summer with jobs back in New Zealand, Schmidt decided to stay on in Ireland. Moving home would have made his family life easier and aligned him with his ultimate ambition - coaching New Zealand.
But there was unfinished business in Ireland for Schmidt. One boxed was ticked at the weekend.
There has been a togetherness across the Irish rugby since the death of Anthony Foley. On Saturday again it was Munster players - Murray and Zebo namely - who provided that necessary surge of energy when Ireland needed a final try to bury the All Blacks. What was striking was just how inexperienced the Ireland team was that finished the game. We had a guy winning his first cap at 10. Finlay Bealham was winning his third cap. Ultan Dillane his sixth. The previous generation of Irish rugby players are rightly celebrated as legends of the game, but that team failed so many times against the All Blacks. This team, lead by Murray, Zebo, Henshaw and Heaslip (with a strong dash of elderly support from Rob Kearney), did what we all considered impossible.
It's worth asking what can happen with this self-belief if it can be regularly applied.
That belief and surety comes from the top down.
We all feared for them in the last 20 minutes. We knew the physical toll of combat with New Zealand. We knew what they had on the bench. We knew the mental toll of 2013. But this team drew learnings from that horrible defeat. They confronted the exact same situation and found a different answer.
Joe Schmidt's genius as a coach has never been more evident than it was against New Zealand. Armchair fans would have dropped Rob Kearney. Rob Kearney turned in his greatest performance in an Ireland shirt on Saturday. Another coach might have gambled on O'Mahony or O'Brien. Joe knew.
In 2013, an Ireland team with O'Connell and O'Driscoll in it had the All Blacks beat, only to concede that devastating Crotty try. For all their greatness, those two men could never inspire Ireland to victory over New Zealand. None of them were there as Ireland saw out this incredible result. Joe Schmidt is still Ireland coach though. That is what matters.
