All Blacks: The unexpected layers motivating Kieran Read

All Blacks captain Kieran Read. Picture / Brett Phibbs

There are layers upon layers motivating Kieran Read to lead his side to a better performance in Dublin tomorrow morning.

There is the obvious: the need to respond to a fierce Irish challenge that will be full of confidence and belief having beaten the All Blacks two weeks ago.

Included in that is the desire not to lose to the same side consecutively for the first time since 2009 and to also ensure what has been a brilliant season pretty much stays that way.

But he revealed today in Dublin a couple of other unexpected factors that have popped up on his dashboard.

The first is his personal need to come off the field feeling that he has led the team better than he did in Chicago. He's been through his captaincy work in some detail and believes he could have done more as the game slipped away from the All Blacks.

"From my point of view, I guess I could have changed things out on the field," he said. "But you take those lessons. It's about getting a response from the guys. It's about ensuring guys stay calm enough to be able to process decisions.

"Our group is well versed at applying pressure to other teams, and when we get that pressure on ourselves you just have to react positively to that. It's about ensuring the guys are as calm and as clear as possible."

He wasn't specific, but the first 45 minutes would likely have been the period in which he felt he could have done more. That was the period when the wheels fell off for the All Blacks. They could barely do anything right and were 23-8 down before they had drawn breadth.

What struck in that period, though, was the compound and repeat errors the All Blacks made - suggesting some players were struggling to keep the clear heads needed for test football.

What Read also revealed was that the one year anniversary of Jonah Lomu's death will feature in his emotional state. Lomu was one of New Zealand's greatest All Blacks whose sudden death last year shocked the country and the world.

As a young boy, Read, who was born and raised in Pukekohe, was a huge fan of Lomu and he said that memories of the great man blasting down the wing for Counties were inspirational.

"We feel, really, for his family at this time of the year. It's extra motivation for the group, or whatever you want to call it and we will certainly be playing for him and his family," Read said.

"He was the reason I played footy, grew up in the area where he was from and played his footy. And went to watch him play every weekend.

"For me it was his smile and everything he did off the pitch. He was a top man."