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England Great Reveals ‘phenomenal’ Snippet Of All Blacks ‘rugby IQ At Its Absolute Best’ And Singles Out ‘point Of Difference’ Concern About...
England great reveals ‘phenomenal’ snippet of All Blacks ‘rugby IQ at its absolute best’ and singles out ‘point of difference’ concern about Ireland
- Liam Heagney
- 04 Nov 2025 11:35 AM
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Retired England great Ben Youngs has delivered his verdict on last weekend’s win by the All Blacks over Ireland in Chicago.
New Zealand came from 7-13 behind to win 26-13 with a three-try, fourth-quarter flourish that sucked the life from Andy Farrell’s below-par Irish side. Scott Robertson’s New Zealand weren’t on top of their game either for large parts of the international in the United States.
However, they did enough to leave Youngs, the England men’s record caps holder, voicing superlatives when reviewing the match on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast he co-hosts with Dan Cole.
Youngs was especially smitten over what unfolded out of the blue in the 19th minute, with New Zealand trailing 0-10 after the concession of a converted try to Tadhg Furlong. That score came at a time when the Irish were still playing with 14 players, as Tadhg Beirne was shown a 20-minute red card.
“Some of the power that New Zealand have…”
Replacement All Black Leicester Fainga’anuku had come onto the field as a sub for the injured Jordie Barrett just before Furlong’s Irish try, and the first touch he had in the New Zealand attack that followed that concession left Youngs purring.
The 26-year-old has only just recently ended his two-year absence from the Test rugby scene, playing last month against Australia for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland, as he had opted to leave the Crusaders for a two-season stint at Toulon.
Fainga’anuku was a try-scorer in that all-time 2023 quarter-final classic against the Irish, and he immediately haunted them with his first touch of the ball on the Soldier Field halfway line, stepping Garry Ringrose and then offloading in a tackle that left two other Irish defenders on the floor, igniting the attack that ended with Ardie Savea scoring in the corner.
This massive impact blew Youngs away. “I want to talk about some of the power that New Zealand have in terms of their strike runners and their players because New Zealand weren’t at their best and I felt like New Zealand were uncharacteristic at times, but what they still possess is some individuals that can make things happen,” he began.
“Leicester Fainga’anuku came on as a replacement for Jordie Barrett – like, what a power athlete. He was a big part of the ’23 World Cup. He then left for Toulon, has now come back, came on and is a right handful.
“He hands off Ringrose, goes on the outside, sucks in defenders, gets the offload away to Will Jordan, who hits a hell of a line. Through they go and they recycle it quick.
“He [Fainga’anuku] is then looking for a shoulder ball, so second effort. Offload, back on his feet. (Cam) Roigard gets it and look who is next to him, No.22, looking for a shoulder ball, looking for the next involvement.
“Roigard hits a lovely ball across, and then New Zealand’s ability to fill the field on the back of linebreaks is remarkable… and their ability to just catch a pass.
“There is a prop for the first one (Ethan de Groot). He gets it, tips it and it goes all the way to Ardie Savea, who races away into the corner. That snippet is New Zealand in a nutshell.
“We saw it again in the last 20 minutes but that one in particular, New Zealand had looked a little bit stuttery, a couple of players had gone off, nothing was quite really happening in their game and then just one moment of individual athletic ability to break a couple of tackles, get the offload in and their appreciation of space, of holding their feet, catch-pass was phenomenal. That for me, that’s New Zealand, that’s rugby IQ at its absolute best.”
Switching to Ireland, who had Farrell in charge for the first time since last November following his sabbatical as British and Irish Lions head coach, Youngs was of a mind to tell Irish fans not to panic despite his concern that their squad couldn’t compete against New Zealand’s power game similar to how they lost out earlier this year in the Six Nations to France.
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“Ireland fans are wondering what’s next, but I wouldn’t panic,” he said. “There were episodes in that game where Ireland looked really good. There were eking out penalties and were well in it for sure.
“The big thing for me is just that power game. I saw it against France in the Six Nations, I saw it again in spells at the weekend in Chicago. I’m just not sure Ireland can deal with that power game, and there’s no greater test for Ireland than the last game of the Autumn Nations Series when they play South Africa because they are the ultimate power team.
“I am really intrigued. If they can match it against them, it says I am wrong, that they actually can do it, but there is something about them that they just get overpowered eventually. That is the thing for me from an Irish perspective: can they do that?
“Now, (Bundee) Aki came off the bench, he is a big, powerful guy but he is 35, how much longer is Aki going to be available for them? I just think that is the point of difference that other teams have over Ireland at the moment, if they bring them into that arm wrestle power game, Ireland struggle with it.”
Focusing on the Irish fly-half debate, where Farrell selected to start Jack Crowley in place of Sam Prendergast, Youngs reckoned: “Crowley played well. The cross-kick, he went too early, but it was the right decision.
“That little kick he did led to New Zealand’s third try, but smart, just looking for space, looking for opportunities. I actually think he had a good game, and he should be given another opportunity to go out there and keep playing. He is someone I would back for the autumn and see how he goes. He had a pretty good start to his autumn campaign.”
Ireland now host Japan in Dublin this Saturday in their second match of the Autumn Nations Series with New Zealand taking on Scotland on the same day.
- Ben Youngs
- Scott Barrett
- Leicester Fainga'anuku
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