"I thought 'crikey, I've got to do something here'. It didn't help that they were scoring points either.''
The game was a steep learning curve for himself and the team, he said.
"The big thing is not to panic, because if you start to panic then things go real bad.
"Once we got into the game and started holding the ball it came right.''
Mitchell was "very happy'' with the performances of new caps McCaw and second five-eighth Aaron Mauger.
"We put faith in them from day one,'' Mitchell said.
"Richie probably had an indifferent start, but it just shows the calibre of the kid, he never let it get to him. I think we'll see more of this lad.''
McCaw was able to steal ball from Ireland in the second half, setting in motion a try to left wing Jonah Lomu.
But he found getting to the loose ball harder than he imagined.
"They were very good at sealing off their own pill. They were there a lot quicker than I've been used to. But she came right in the end.
"It was a hell of a stadium to play at, a real rugby stadium, a big crowd - something I'll always remember, very special.''
-NZPA
