Maoris take Irish scalp

Instead, his kick drifted wide of the posts and the centenary celebrating Maoris added the Irish scalp to those of England, Argentina, Scotland, Fiji, and the 2005 British & Irish Lions captured since the game went professional,

The home side raced into a 15-0 lead thanks to tries from wing Hosea Gear and centre Dwayne Sweeney and Luke McAlister added a penalty and conversion. That rocked the Irish XV and six successive penalties from the reliable Sexton boot tied up the scores at 18-18 at half-time.

Things improved further for the tourists when Paddy Wallace skipped over for a try and Sexton's conversion made it 25-18. A long range McAlister penalty and a third home try, this time from flanker Karl Lowe, which Willie Repia converted regained the lead for the Maoris at 28-25, but Sexton's seventh penalty levelled matters again.

Then came the dramatic finish as replacement outside half Repia kept his cool to land a late penalty to steal the lead, before Sexton crucially lost his 100% record as he tried to grab a share of the spoils.