During the Six Nations, Italy were punished by the same law and were forced to play Ireland with 13 men after replacement hooker Hame Faiva was red carded early in the piece.
The officiating in Dunedin was already under scrutiny before the error when Leicester Faingaanuku was very fortunate to escape with a yellow card after recklessly connecting with Mack Hansen’s head following an attempt to charge-down a kick. The All Blacks were permanently reduced to 14 when Ta’avao went high on Garry Ringrose, making head-to-head contact at high speed.
In total, New Zealand accumulated two yellow cards and one red in the match with their ill-discipline playing a key role in their first ever defeat to Ireland on home soil.
Andrew Porter scored two tries and captain Johnny Sexton added 13 points from the kicking tee while the home side scored two tries through fly-half Beauden Barrett and replacement back Will Jordan to leave the final score 23-12 to the tourists.
Six years after their first victory over New Zealand after more than a century of trying, Ireland have now won four of the last seven encounters with the three-time world champions.
The long-awaited win for Ireland in New Zealand now sets up a mouth-watering series decider in Wellington next Saturday with Andy Farrell’s side aiming to make history for successive weeks by securing a first series victory.
.