That is how long Ireland battered away at the All Blacks’ defence in the final moments of the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal at the Stade de France yesterday morning (New Zealand time).
All it would have taken was one little crack and the Irish would have swarmed through and forced their way into the semifinals for the first time in their history.
But the world No1-ranked team were up against a resolute All Blacks side who drew on the last of their reserves to prevail 28-24 in one of the most epic games in the tournament’s history.
No-one deserved to lose. The level of skill on display was remarkable.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane and Ardie Savea were among the heroes. They were omnipresent at the breakdown.
Jordie Barrett was influential in the midfield and matched up well against his classy opponent Bundee Aki.
The All Blacks dominated the lineout and had the better of the set pieces. But Ireland found some traction out wide, particularly down the right side.
It all came down to a final few frantic moments. Ireland slowly marched the ball upfield, probing for weakness where there was none.
The Irish threw themselves at the defence in wave after wave until All Blacks veteran Sam Whitelock got over the ball and finally shut the game down.
We could breathe again.
The win sealed the All Blacks a semifinal against Argentina, who beat Wales 29-17 in the other quarterfinal yesterday.
