Gregor Paul: Rattled All Blacks more vulnerable than anyone realised

OPINION

There's some temptation to go glass half full after the All Blacks loss in Dublin, their third to Ireland in the last six tests and believe that the depth of character they showed to stay in the fight and keep it alive for as long as they did is a portent of better things to come.

But there's a much greater need to resist that temptation and question whether rugby in New Zealand is so gripped by a pass and catch culture that it has genuinely lost touch of what test rugby is all about.

There is reason to be worried that the All Blacks no longer have the ante to play at the same table as the likes of Ireland, England and South Africa and are no closer to finding the muscularity they need than they were when they began searching for it four years ago.

To be dominated the way they were – to be so inferior to Ireland in the physical stakes and yet hang in for as long as they did, said something about the size of their heart.

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But the fact they were so inferior in so many ways, said more about where they really sit in the world pecking order. Losing to Ireland is now becoming habitual and that may be because the All Blacks can't match them for sheer physical impact and muscularity.

For a whole century the Irish never really had the full respect of the All Blacks, but the way this test went and the five before, maybe now it is New Zealand who have become the junior partner in this relationship.

While it took until the last minute for Ireland to kick themselves into an unassailable nine-point lead, everyone else could see that they were going to win long before Joey Carberry's penalty.

The hard truth for New Zealand is that they were never in the game. They scrambled and they scrapped and they threw all they had, but from even the first minute it looked like they were struggling.

Ireland's Jack Conan, center, holds off New Zealand's Akira Ioane during the international rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand. Photo / AP

They could legitimately hold up fatigue as an excuse, argue that they have been in a bio bubble for 12 weeks and that had an impact.

But they know that would be a false route for them to travel as it would deny the reality of what happened, which is that Ireland were better.

Ireland were stronger, faster, more cohesive and they played the sort of attacking rugby the All Blacks were intending to play but simply couldn't.

And now there is reason to worry a little bit. To wonder if this inability to front physical teams, to handle the power of the Northern Hemisphere's best is now endemic and a problem that they can't fix.

The story of this game was the same as the one produced on the Gold Coast earlier this year against the Boks. It was the same as the World Cup semi-final in 2019 and the same as the last test the All Blacks played in Dublin in 2018.

It's happened too often now to be deemed an anomaly and what will be sitting so uneasily in the minds of the All Blacks coaching staff, is that they knew exactly what would be coming at them.

Ireland's James Ryan wins a lineout during the international rugby union match between Ireland and New Zealand, at the Aviva Stadium. Photo / AP

Ireland haven't been hiding their game-plan or keeping secrets about what they do and that's why this was the game where the All Blacks wanted to see if they had finally learned the art of attrition rugby.

They came into the test confident that they had built their set-piece, refined their breakdown work and learned how to hold the ball and use it in the inevitable onslaught Ireland would bring.

That confidence was misplaced and what's clear now, is that the All Blacks are more vulnerable than anyone realised.

They are lacking the real crunch of others and just as South Africa effectively out-muscled and bullied the All Blacks across the park, so too did Ireland.

It was comprehensive – Ireland had greater presence in all the physical elements and they buzzed about with all the good ideas.

They owned the game as much as they owned the All Blacks and pressure once again proved to be the enemy of a young New Zealand team that couldn't find a way to weather the storm.

What prevented this test being a disaster for the All Blacks was the way they defended and the way they did at least manage a mini rally.

The sense of desperation in the All Blacks tackling was intense, but there was calm and composure shining through the frenzy.

To defend as resolutely as they did, to find a way to somehow keep repelling Ireland, denying them the scores that appeared inevitable, took an extraordinarily level of commitment but also focus.

Defence with just fury fuelling it invariably fails, but this was different. This was defence with as much brain behind it as brawn and when Will Jordan produced a magic moment to haul the All Blacks to within three points with 13 minutes left, there was hope that the attacking surge would continue and another great escape pulled off.

But the narrative stayed true to form and the All Blacks didn't have the maturity or composure to sustain what they started and they looked as rattled and frazzled in the last 10 minutes as they did in the first.