Under performing Maori beaten by red hot Irish.
The Irish ended a perfect group four campaign with a five-try rout of a highly fancied Maori outfit. Two tries late in the first half set them on the way to victory against opponents whose defeat offered a lifeline to Scotland.
Wing Mark Forster started the try scoring, by blocking an Odell Manuel kick and raced down the touchline just inside his own half to score in the corner. Irish full-back Steve Prescott , who had broken the deadlock with a penalty, converted the try to give Ireland a 12 point lead at the end of the first half.
Maori forward Tyran Smith and Irish prop Barrie Mcdermott came to blows at the start of the second half, but the result was a penalty to the Irish, which Prescott again converted.
David Barnhill then virtually made the game safe for Ireland when he picked up a loose ball and then dummied, before powering over from 30 metres. Barnhill had to wait before his try was confirmed by the Television replays amid fears of a knock on.
The Maori, who many expected to mount a serious challenge before thier shock loss to Samoa, were begining to show signs of fatigue and miss several key tackles.
It wasnt until replacement Boycie Nelson showed a bit of enthusiam did Maori score as he did a diagonal run and scored over the line in the corner.
Irelands response was immediate and Withers darted over the line from several metres out.
The Maori grabbed a second try through Hare Te Rangi, who found a huge gap, has he sliced his way through the Irish defence, with Henry Perenara converting from under the posts.
Tawera Nikau made his team suffer at the end with late tackle and was sinbinned, with Prescott adding insult to injury and converting the penalty.
The Maori although with 12 players grabbed one last try as they created an overlap that saw Wairangi Koopu over the line and converted by Gene Ngaumu.
But it was Ireland who had the last word as Sheridan scored from close range to give Ireland another victory and the Maori to await their fate in the final match of Samoa Vs Scotland.
Final Score Ireland 30 beat Maori 16