Murray Kinsella Reports from Auckland

THERE WERE NO wild Kiwi celebrations, despite their impressive six-try performance.

The All Blacks are getting used to beating Ireland again.

In fairness, their fourth consecutive win against Andy Farrell’s team didn’t go down to the wire. The writing was on the wall for Ireland by half-time.

So the New Zealand fans who began to head for the exits several minutes before the confusing final whistle could be excused. They had seen enough at Eden Park. Some of them had enjoyed getting a few digs in at the Irish players too.

“Remember where you were born,” roared one particularly rude fella when Bundee Aki came on.

At this stage four years ago, there were Kiwi fans quietly making their way out of the stadium in Wellington. They were genuinely devastated, having seen Ireland make history by clinching their first-ever series success on New Zealand soil. That rocked Kiwi rugby to its core.

Things are different now, with the new Nations Championship meaning the end of the traditional three-Test tours to one country, but Saturday night in Auckland was a marked contrast to 2022 for Ireland.

Having been beaten at Eden Park in the opener that year, Andy Farrell’s men won in Dunedin and Wellington to mark themselves out as genuine World Cup contenders. That series success was a springboard for Ireland to go on and win the 2023 Grand Slam.

Indeed, they jumped to number one in the World Rugby rankings thanks to those back-to-back victories over the All Blacks.

So Farrell’s side left New Zealand in 2022 feeling like they could take on and beat anyone in the world, swaggering onto the plane home.

There must be different feelings this time around.

They will board Sunday’s flights with bumps and bruises to their bodies and minds. It was not a fun night at Eden Park.

Certain things didn’t go their way on Saturday night, and they might feel like the scoreline didn’t fully reflect where both teams are, but there is a trend emerging in the results.

Sam Prendergast reacts at the final whistle. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

This loss was the second to New Zealand this season, following an underwhelming Irish performance in Chicago. Ireland were also well beaten by South Africa in Dublin last November. And France did a job on them in Paris at the start of the Six Nations.

Although Ireland will remain third in World Rugby’s official rankings for now, it’s difficult not to see the Springboks, All Blacks, and les Bleus at full strength as being the front-runners in international rugby for now.

That’s not to discount Ireland’s Triple Crown success in the Six Nations this year. They did very well to recover from that miserable night at Stade de France to beat Italy, then clinch their Crown with a brilliant win over England at Twickenham, a home victory over Wales, and a convincing success against Scotland on the final day.

Indeed, Ireland were minutes away from being Six Nations champions as France very nearly lost to England.

And yet, as they land in Dublin on Monday, they won’t be feeling like they were four years ago. This is a different Ireland team, of course. Some of the titans of that 2022/23 team aren’t around any more.

And there were mitigating factors for Saturday night in Auckland. Ireland were missing captain Caelan Doris, Mack Hansen, Jack Crowley, Tommy O’Brien, Ryan Baird, Andrew Porter and a few more players who might have been involved.

Doris is Ireland’s all-action talisman, a leader in almost every part of their game. Hansen’s guile and creativity appear more important than ever in their absence. The combative, classy Crowley had regained the number 10 shirt. Porter at his best is one of the leading looseheads in the game. Baird brings dynamism and lineout skills at blindside. O’Brien has the kind of speed that is crucial to the game now.

It has always been the case that Ireland need to be close to full capacity in terms of player availability if they’re going to beat the big nations who have greater depth in their playing pool. 

And it’s only fair to point out again that some big decisions didn’t go Ireland’s way at Eden Park. It’s understood that the Irish coaching staff are angry about the decision not to show Luke Jacobson a red card, the penalty-only call for Quinn Tupaea’s deliberate knock-on, and the game being ended early as Ireland chased a try-scoring bonus point.

On a slightly different night, Ireland might even have grabbed two bonus points in defeat, which would have been a good outcome for their Nations Championship hopes.

But even while acknowledging that they might not have got the rub of the green, it was clear to everyone watching at Eden Park that the All Blacks were the better team. They stretched Ireland with nearly every possession, taking them to breaking point six times.

Jordie Barrett and Hugo Keenan contest a high ball. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

So there is work to do for Ireland heading into a World Cup season.

Perhaps it will suit them to be a little more under the radar this time around. There certainly aren’t any fears about Ireland having peaked too soon in this cycle.

Farrell appears to be confident that the best is ahead for this team, but he is probably realistic too. He needs as healthy a squad as possible when Australia 2027 rolls around, and he needs his team firing at near 10/10 level when they meet the biggest sides.

He knows that the mood music around his side can change suddenly. Ireland have a home clash with the mighty Springboks to come in the second Nations Championship window in November, as well as a tie against Argentina – with whom they’re on a possible World Cup quarter-final collision course.

Ireland will then welcome France and England to Dublin in the 2027 Six Nations. 

It would definitely be welcome for Farrell’s men to beat a couple of the big guns as the World Cup comes into view.

The sense remains that to do that, they need nearly everyone fit, to get the odd bounce of the ball, and to play out of their skins. That didn’t happen at Eden Park.