All Blacks: Boric proves he has the physicality

If Anthony Boric goes on to have a long All Black career, he will point to this test against Ireland as his turning point.

Boric had the difficult task of stepping in for the injured behemoth Brad Thorn and impressed not only with his ability to sniff out a try, but for the physicality many wondered whether he would be able to produce.

"He hasn't played 80 minutes in a long time, but he came out and played like a true international lock. He gave a performance he can be very proud of," forwards coach Steve Hansen said.

Boric received plenty of advice in the lead-up to the test, but the most pertinent came from the man he was replacing.

"It was a pretty simple message. He said to go hard, clean the rucks and do the basics, what he does so well. And just try to be as physical as you can be in that tighthead lock position," Boric said.

"I just tried to fill his boots as best I can and try to go some way towards how he plays. It's great learning off him."

When Tom Donnelly injured his knee towards the end of the first half, the All Blacks found themselves with a locking pair with just eight test starts (30 appearances overall) between them.

But neither Boric nor Sam Whitelock seemed fazed by the situation or the physical challenge laid down by the Irish.

Boric said one of the motivating factors for his performance was the knowledge it could be his last.

"You think 'it's been a while [since my last start] and it could be my last crack at it', so I just had to give it all I had," Boric, 26, said. "That's what Richie [McCaw] always says to us, that you never know, it could be the last time you play, so it's easy to get motivated."

Boric was not involved in the Tri-Nations, but did make his last starting appearance in June against Wales.

It was Boric's try against Ireland that proved pivotal. Andy Ellis dropped the ball backwards at the base of a ruck, but recovered it and popped it to Boric, who still had plenty of work to do. He managed to snake his way through a weak half-tackle and used his long levers to ground the ball over the line.

"The boys actually gave me a bit of stick. I was looking for the offload, because 'Reado' was just outside me, but the line crept up pretty quickly in the end. I was pretty happy with that."