@No-Quarter said in All Blacks vs Ireland - series decider:
@Duluth I'm with you in that I think our players are too good for Ireland at home, despite our obvious issues under Foster. The fact Ireland only managed to score 23 points and beat us by 11 despite our red card and two yellows speaks volumes really, they just don't have enough points in them if we keep 15 players on the field.
Almost all their points were scored when they had the same number of men as us. (They had a card too.)
But we won't be beaten because they score a lot. We will be beaten by not scoring many ourselves. That's how Ireland have won all the other times.
I'm expecting them to be far less adventurous. They literally gave us the ball a lot in the first test, costing them pretty much the margin of victory. They have had a good look at our attack, and with QT and ST out it is even less penetrative than before, and won't be scared of holding on.
It all comes down to whether the ABs can hold their passes under pressure, and how much ball they kick away. If the passes stick and they give up the kick-and-hope game, the men in black will win comfortably. If they get the dropsies, and if they kick away most of the possession once they haven't made an immediate break-through, then they will lose.
Edit: I don't make hard predictions with Foster's teams. I learned many, many years ago that it is the way to heartache. They play well or dreadfully, apparently at random.