- Quarter-final: Ireland 24-28 New Zealand
- Eighth successive World Cup quarter-final defeat for Ireland
The agony goes on. Ireland must wonder what they have to do to break this quarter-final curse, how long to spend as No 1 in the world, how many grand slams to win, how many victories in a row. Let the record state: eight quarter-finals, eight defeats.
And for the All Blacks now: nine quarter-finals, eight wins. How New Zealand have suffered themselves of late, toppled for some time from their perch as the perennial champions of everything oval. This may not mean a return to the top for them, but that familiar precision, that doggedness in defence, that nose for victory has been regained.
