All Blacks surprisingly dominate Ireland 23-13

DUBLIN (AP) — New Zealand defeated Ireland in Dublin for the first time in eight years after a surprisingly one-sided 23-13 win on Friday night.

The All Blacks dominated ball and territory, won the battles in the air and the set-pieces, and largely controlled proceedings against Ireland, which lost at home for the first time in nearly four years.

The Irish under pressure conceded 13 penalties (to New Zealand's five) and Damian McKenzie punished them with six penalty shots — the seventh hit the post — in a masterful overall performance, his best of the year as the starting flyhalf.

“He's so mercurial,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson told broadcaster TNT Sports. “Sometimes he doesn't quite get it right but when he does ... he got enough right tonight and it was pretty special. I'm really pleased how he controlled the game; really calm, kept backing himself.”

Both teams scored a try apiece. Ireland's through Josh van der Flier regained them the lead straight after halftime while they had a man advantage. But the All Blacks put out the Irish fire and Will Jordan's try gave the visitors a convincing 10-point lead with 11 minutes to go.

Ireland came into the contest not having played since its July win over world champion South Africa in Durban. Despite a warm-weather camp in Portugal last week, the oiled machine the Irish normally show ground through the gears. They took their only try-scoring chance and were otherwise smothered and outmuscled.

“It's a funny old feeling (losing) because we don't tend to have it too much in that dressing room,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell said. “The lads are gutted and we're all gutted. I thought we'd prepped well, trained well and we were excited about the game. The energy and accuracy wasn't there for needing to win a big test match like that.”

First-year coach Robertson finally got his benchmark win against the team that has given the All Blacks their most setbacks of late.

“We showed so much courage and care with both sides of the ball. We just executed more,” Robertson said. “The boys performed after halftime and we're stoked to get a result like that."

For all the spikiness in their recent contests — including their World Cup quarterfinal a year ago — this one was relatively serene in front of a subdued sold-out Aviva Stadium. The one brief tussle between the teams drew a chuckle in the stands from the movie gladiator, Irish actor Paul Mescal.

In a cagey first half, New Zealand looked far more likely to score a try, and won 54 of the 74 rucks. Ireland was mainly on the defensive, forced to spoil at the breakdowns and harass scrumhalf Cortez Ratima.

But Ireland overplayed and coughed up penalties that earned a warning from referee Nic Berry. McKenzie kicked three out of three for a 9-3 lead, which would have been a fair indicator of the half.

But right on halftime, New Zealand's Jordie Barrett was sin-binned for a high tackle on midfield opposite Garry Ringrose and Jack Crowley's second penalty gave Ireland a timely boost.

Knowing they started the new half with a 10-minute man advantage, the Irish upped their intensity. They forced a five-meter scrum and on the sixth attempt to pound the ball in, flanker van der Flier succeeded. Crowley's extras made it 13-9 in the 44th.

The Irish stormed back into the New Zealand 22 again but a neck roll penalty let the All Blacks off the hook. The Irish would have been disappointed to score only seven points while playing against 14 men.

McKenzie was given a long-range penalty kick and showed remarkable poise when the ball fell off the tee to regather his wits and slot it within the shot clock.

With Barrett back, New Zealand resumed control and Ireland's penalty count crept back up.

A scrum penalty and another ruck penalty gave McKenzie more target practice and New Zealand went ahead 18-13 with 15 to go.

Barrett started the decisive try-scoring move. Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan made his second try-saving tackle of the match on Mark Tele'a but the All Blacks went left and the hooker Asafo Aumua gave Jordan an untouched run to the try-line.

McKenzie couldn’t convert but another strong impact from the All Blacks replacements ensured top-ranked Ireland's 19-win streak at home was effectively over.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie, kicks a penalty during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Mark Tele'a,, left, is tackled by Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park, during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Bundee Aki, centre smiles at teammate Ireland's Mack Hansen, at the end of the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland , Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. New Zealand won the game 23-13. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Ofa Tu'ungafasi, celebrates at th end of the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, New Zealand won the game 23-13. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Josh van der Flier's teammates react as he scores try during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Will Jordan scores a try during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie, center, catches the ball during the Autumn international rugby match against Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie, takes a penalty kick during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, police said, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure.

Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku told a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.

The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union's executive commission as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance. Russia's use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.

The Eagle S's anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle television reported, relying on police statements.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement that the incident was “the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure” and commended the Finnish authorities “for their swift action in boarding the suspected vessel."

The ship “is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget,” said Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister. "We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet.”

The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.

The Estonian government met in emergency session over the incident. The shadow tankers “are helping Russia to earn funds that will aid Russian hybrid attacks,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal said at a news conference. “We need to improve the monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure both on land and on sea.”

He said repairs to the cable could take as long as seven months.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said she was in close touch with Michal and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. “Our armed forces have strengthened surveillance and are monitoring the situation,” she said on X. “The Baltic states currently have sufficient energy production capacity, although we are challenged by the Baltic Sea cable incidents.”

Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November. Germany’s defense minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn't provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.

The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.

Estonian network operator Elering says there is enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.

This photo provided by Rajavartiosto (Finnish Border Guard) on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, shows the oil tanker Eagle S at sea outside Porkkalanniemi, Finland. The Eagle S was sailing at the same time in the area where the Finland-Estonia electrical link was disrupted on Wednesday. (Rajavartiosto via AP)

This photo provided by Rajavartiosto (Finnish Border Guard) on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, shows the oil tanker Eagle S, background, and the Finnish Border Guard ship Turva at sea outside Porkkalanniemi, Finland. The Eagle S was sailing at the same time in the area where the Finland-Estonia electrical link was disrupted on Wednesday. (Rajavartiosto via AP)

FILE - Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, as police investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)

Finnish National Police Comissioner Ilkka Koskim'ki attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)