Ireland vs New Zealand: Why world No 1 side lost quarter-final

Ireland’s World Cup dream ended on Saturday night with a pulsating 28-24 defeat by New Zealand at the Stade de France. Despite coming into the game having won 17 consecutive matches, they made it eight losses from eight Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

But what went wrong for the world’s No 1 team? And how did the All Blacks reach the last four?

Having ripped through Scotland with ruthless efficiency a week earlier, Ireland struggled to punch holes in New Zealand’s defensive line.

● Ireland vs New Zealand: All Blacks keep quarter-final curse alive

According to Opta, they made their highest number of passes (325) in a Test match since the data was first collected in 2009 — beating their previous record of 282 against Italy