All Blacks surprisingly dominate Ireland 23-13

DUBLIN (AP) — New Zealand defeated Ireland in Dublin for the first time in eight years after a surprisingly one-sided 23-13 win on Friday night.

The All Blacks dominated ball and territory, won the battles in the air and the set-pieces, and largely controlled proceedings against Ireland, which lost at home for the first time in nearly four years.

The Irish under pressure conceded 13 penalties (to New Zealand's five) and Damian McKenzie punished them with six penalty shots — the seventh hit the post — in a masterful overall performance, his best of the year as the starting flyhalf.

“He's so mercurial,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson told broadcaster TNT Sports. “Sometimes he doesn't quite get it right but when he does ... he got enough right tonight and it was pretty special. I'm really pleased how he controlled the game; really calm, kept backing himself.”

Both teams scored a try apiece. Ireland's through Josh van der Flier regained them the lead straight after halftime while they had a man advantage. But the All Blacks put out the Irish fire and Will Jordan's try gave the visitors a convincing 10-point lead with 11 minutes to go.

Ireland came into the contest not having played since its July win over world champion South Africa in Durban. Despite a warm-weather camp in Portugal last week, the oiled machine the Irish normally show ground through the gears. They took their only try-scoring chance and were otherwise smothered and outmuscled.

“It's a funny old feeling (losing) because we don't tend to have it too much in that dressing room,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell said. “The lads are gutted and we're all gutted. I thought we'd prepped well, trained well and we were excited about the game. The energy and accuracy wasn't there for needing to win a big test match like that.”

First-year coach Robertson finally got his benchmark win against the team that has given the All Blacks their most setbacks of late.

“We showed so much courage and care with both sides of the ball. We just executed more,” Robertson said. “The boys performed after halftime and we're stoked to get a result like that."

For all the spikiness in their recent contests — including their World Cup quarterfinal a year ago — this one was relatively serene in front of a subdued sold-out Aviva Stadium. The one brief tussle between the teams drew a chuckle in the stands from the movie gladiator, Irish actor Paul Mescal.

In a cagey first half, New Zealand looked far more likely to score a try, and won 54 of the 74 rucks. Ireland was mainly on the defensive, forced to spoil at the breakdowns and harass scrumhalf Cortez Ratima.

But Ireland overplayed and coughed up penalties that earned a warning from referee Nic Berry. McKenzie kicked three out of three for a 9-3 lead, which would have been a fair indicator of the half.

But right on halftime, New Zealand's Jordie Barrett was sin-binned for a high tackle on midfield opposite Garry Ringrose and Jack Crowley's second penalty gave Ireland a timely boost.

Knowing they started the new half with a 10-minute man advantage, the Irish upped their intensity. They forced a five-meter scrum and on the sixth attempt to pound the ball in, flanker van der Flier succeeded. Crowley's extras made it 13-9 in the 44th.

The Irish stormed back into the New Zealand 22 again but a neck roll penalty let the All Blacks off the hook. The Irish would have been disappointed to score only seven points while playing against 14 men.

McKenzie was given a long-range penalty kick and showed remarkable poise when the ball fell off the tee to regather his wits and slot it within the shot clock.

With Barrett back, New Zealand resumed control and Ireland's penalty count crept back up.

A scrum penalty and another ruck penalty gave McKenzie more target practice and New Zealand went ahead 18-13 with 15 to go.

Barrett started the decisive try-scoring move. Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan made his second try-saving tackle of the match on Mark Tele'a but the All Blacks went left and the hooker Asafo Aumua gave Jordan an untouched run to the try-line.

McKenzie couldn’t convert but another strong impact from the All Blacks replacements ensured top-ranked Ireland's 19-win streak at home was effectively over.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie, kicks a penalty during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Mark Tele'a,, left, is tackled by Ireland's Jamison Gibson-Park, during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Bundee Aki, centre smiles at teammate Ireland's Mack Hansen, at the end of the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland , Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. New Zealand won the game 23-13. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Ofa Tu'ungafasi, celebrates at th end of the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, New Zealand won the game 23-13. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Josh van der Flier's teammates react as he scores try during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

New Zealand's Will Jordan scores a try during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie, center, catches the ball during the Autumn international rugby match against Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

New Zealand's Damian McKenzie, takes a penalty kick during the the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."

After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.

It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)