KEY POINTS:
Chapter II completed. The Grand Slam mission remains on target for the All Blacks after a 22-3 victory against the Irish at Croke Park - injuries were confined to some back damage for Tony Woodock as the group looked forward to a walk down memory lane this week in Limerick.
It was a case of job done, move on for the tourists after they toiled through their latest test against a valiant Irish side rather than leaving a massive imprint of potent All Black skill and power.
There was the look of a team satisfied with the result if not all their execution, of a side who were a shade out of sync but had too much firepower throughout their backline for the Irish to withstand.
It was not quite a sombre top table of All Black coaching staff after the test, although their remarks suggested a pass mark rather than any great ebullience about the standard of the team's production. They had soaked up the outstanding atmosphere generated by a capacity 82,300 crowd and put away the Irish with an effective display.
"Good result, but frustration," was coach Graham Henry's judgment.
For the second consecutive test, the All Blacks held their opponents tryless while they had to be content with a three-try blitz in 12 minutes to distance themselves from their tenacious rivals.
Crucially, the first came from a penalty try on the tick of halftime with the scores deadlocked at 3-all after Ireland had scrambled hard all half and the All Blacks had committed too many errors for their lofty standards. It was a huge boost for the visitors.
Irish wing Tommy Bowe batted the ball dead in-goal ahead of the diving Richie McCaw and was sent for a 10-minute rest, while his team went into the sheds 3-10 adrift. It may have looked harsh but it was a correct decision and just the momentum the All Blacks needed.
Not long after they were 22-3 ahead following further tries to Ma'a Nonu and Brad Thorn even with Woodcock sent to the bin for punching. Ali Williams was denied a try by the television match official during that scoring splurge which sealed the result.
Other later chances were lost. Sitiveni Sivivatu's touchdown was rejected because of a forward pass while Daniel Carter's sizzling break went awry when he passed to a defender.
It was that sort of match. Chances were created, by both teams, but some of the finesse, accuracy and patience was missing. Irish prop Marcus Horan threw a pass beyond two teammates into touch with a try looming, John Afoa delayed his transfer too long with a try in sight in a match which had some great intensity but usually in staccato bursts.
One section of first-half action seemed to portray the undercurrent of the test. Jimmy Cowan shelled a lineout take, Jerome Kaino put in a massive turnover before Carter delivered another strange midfield chip, Rodney So'oialo missed a simple cover defence tackle on David Wallace; they were all pieces of loose, stuttering rugby in amongst the raw aggression from both sides.
"I thought we played at the right end of the field, we just didn't quite click for us though right on halftime to get the seven points was pretty crucial," McCaw said. "We had some pressure on but if we had gone into the break even it might have been tougher in the second half but to get that try right on halftime was pretty critical.
"I thought the majority of the second half was pretty good really. We got some quick ball and were able to play some pretty good rugby. It was a good battle, it was pretty physical out there. We got some turnovers and once we started getting some frontfoot ball I thought our physicality at the breakdown was good."
The All Blacks screwed the Irish down in their half for much of the second spell, sustained the pressure and gave them little room to manoeuvre. Once again the defence was strong with Carter being tested regularly but showing no weakness while the forwards sealed up most of the other channels.
"We cleared out a lot better at the breakdown in the second half," forwards coach Steve Hansen said. "The lineout I think went pretty well against what is a pretty good lineout team, so again pretty happy."
Henry did not relax until a few minutes before the end.
"I think we had it under control for most of the game," he said, "but whether the result is under control is another story."
