Murray Kinsella Reports from Auckland

JAMES RYAN HAS had some great days in his 83 caps for Ireland.

Last Saturday in Auckland wasn’t one of them.

It was a bitter note to end the season on, particularly given the momentum Ireland had regained through the Six Nations.

Finishing with a 40-21 loss to New Zealand meant Ryan will head into next season determined to help Ireland make big improvements.

“I’d say we’re not at our best, you know what I mean?” was how Ryan rated Ireland’s 2025/26 campaign.

“I’d say we’ve had some unbelievably good days, great performances. I think probably the England game sticks out in Twickenham, but for us coming back in September and with the next 15 months in mind, it’s about stepping up a bit.

“We’re not at the level that we want to be yet, particularly going into a World Cup season, so we’ve all got to get better. We’ve got to go back into pre-season hungry to get better.”

There were some positives on a tough night for Ireland, with the likes of Joe McCarthy, Dan Sheehan, and Jack Conan playing well in the Irish pack.

Indeed, a good outing for the Irish lineout and scrum after some set-piece failings against Australia and Japan was one of the pleasing things, in Ryan’s view.

“We’re happy with it,” said Ryan. “We had good lineout D, and I think we only lost one. And I think we’re a good attacking side, so teams look at set-piece and try to go after that area to try and disrupt our attack at source.

“Our scrum was good as well. I thought Tom O’Toole did a great job. So we’re pretty happy. Probably a bit of learning in the first couple of games, but we finished off better.”

Ryan said it didn’t feel like the All Blacks played very differently under new head coach Dave Rennie than they have in previous regimes.

The difference, he felt, was Ireland’s errors, which played into the Kiwis’ hands.

“I thought in the first half, we were a little bit off,” said Ryan.

James Ryan at Eden Park. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“I don’t think we’re that off. It was just little errors like dropped balls, some penalties, and that just gave them access into the game, and it felt like they didn’t have to do a whole lot to score their tries, but they were just unbelievably clinical.

“I thought we responded very well in the second half and showed some great fight, particularly some of those defensive sets in the last quarter, which was good, but we’re disappointed.”

Ryan was among those to make handling errors in the first half, but he had some strong moments like a lineout steal.

He had a busy, productive season for Leinster and Ireland, starting 25 of his 26 games for province and country. Ryan was pleased with his campaign.

“Yeah, I’ve been happy,” he said. “I’ve tried to keep evolving my game, and I’m thinking about ways to be better, and overall I’m fairly happy with where I’m at.”

Ryan will continue to be an important cog for Ireland in the second row as they build up to the World Cup. His locking partner, Joe McCarthy, has had an impressive season, while Tadhg Beirne is also a key figure in the second row or at blindside.

“I love playing with Joe and Tadhg,” said Ryan.

“It’s always very enjoyable. We’ve had some good days this season, and some days that weren’t as good.

“But definitely, as I said, we’ve got to go back in August and September with a real hunger to get better.”