Photos: All Blacks v IrelandKEY POINTS:
The Irish 22 last night had a familiarity about them missing in their opponents.
Ireland's 22 contained 14 players who were involved when they came here in 2006. By contrast, the All Blacks had only eight survivors from 2006. Wind the clock back to 2002, when the Irish
played a two-test series in New Zealand, the number of survivors in green drops to four. For the All Blacks only Richie McCaw and Leon MacDonald were involved.
Those numbers illustrate the biggest problem Graham Henry has as All Black coach. Common sense dictated long before an expensive six-month World Cup review that experience is critical for teams under pressure.
The more that players are experienced on the big stage, the more likely they are able to make good decisions under pressure. Longevity, combined with personal development and hard work creates leaders in the test arena.
What doesn't create good leaders are classroom-based workshops and other synthetic environments where players talk and listen.
The art of test football is learned on the field. Players make mistakes, they learn from them, they don't repeat them and next time, are better prepared and see problems in time to fix them.
Looking at the level of turnovers in the All Black side compared with the Irish puts into perspective where New Zealand is struggling - too few players are in the side long enough to give that depth and breadth of leadership across the park.
There is a secondary issue, too. The Ireland starting XV contained 10 players who started the last test they played in New Zealand at Eden Park two years ago when they were a little unlucky to lose 27-17.
Last night's front row of John Hayes, Jerry Flannery and Marcus Horan started at Eden Park, while their locking pairing of Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell was also the same. Their loose forward trio contained David Wallace and Dennis Leamy last night as it did in 2006. Ronan O'Gara at first five, Brian O'Driscoll at centre and Shane Horgan on the wing lined up as they did two years ago.
In comparison, the All Blacks had Mils Muliaina at fullback in both Wellington and Eden Park and their loose forward trio contained the same players - just in different positions.
When all this is absorbed it is impossible not to come back to a word that was used so much last year - combinations. It's just starting to feel like the All Blacks are lagging the rest of the world in building established partnerships.
Back in 1996 and 1997 - the last great All Black side - the strength of the team was not the great individuals, although there were several genuine legends (Michael Jones, Zinzan Brooke, Frank Bunce, Christian Cullen and Jonah Lomu). That team was made all-powerful by the certainty and fluidity of their combinations.
Craig Dowd, Sean Fitzpatrick and Olo Brown were the front row and as a consequence made a frightful mess of most scrums they encountered.
Robin Brooke and Ian Jones, solid but not brilliant players, complemented each other and were a more potent unit than the sum of their individual parts.
Jones, Brooke and Josh Kronfeld took their individual brilliance and melded that into, possibly, one of the best trios to ever play the game. Justin Marshall and Andrew Mehrtens were friends and worked instinctively with each other.
Bunce and Walter Little in the midfield were a clockwork pairing and the back three of Lomu, Jeff Wilson and Cullen read each other well and could counterattack from anywhere.
Unity and cohesion is not formed overnight. Some key partnerships were formed well before 1996, while others began in provincial football.
During the Henry reign, there have been only occasional partnerships. For much of 2005 Carl Hayman, Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock were a regular unit in the front row. Ali Williams and Chris Jack were the preferred locking pairing for most of 2005 and 2006.
Dan Carter and Byron Kelleher were selected together for the better part of three years and the loose forward trio of Rodney So'oialo, Jerry Collins and Richie McCaw came together at the end of 2004 and stayed together until the World Cup.
Other than the loose forwards, there was always tinkering. Anton Oliver was often used instead of Mealamu, Keith Robinson ousted Jack in 2006 and some of 2007, while Jason Eaton was used frequently in 2006.
Kelleher and Carter played a lot together yet never felt like a partnership as Marshall and Mehrtens did.
The most glaring failure to settle on a combination was in the midfield. Come the World Cup the selectors were keen on Luke McAlister and Conrad Smith, but went cold on that during the pool rounds. The back three was never settled either. Mils Muliaina played most tests at fullback but his wings varied - with any combination of Doug Howlett, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Joe Rokocoko and Rico Gear since 2004.
Much of the blame can be placed with the selectors. Even now they meddle by playing So'oialo at blindside and Kaino at No 8.
It feels like experimenting for the sake of it, rather than allowing the players time to learn to work with each other.
The player exodus has also been a major factor.
Hayman, Mealamu and Woodcock is no longer possible. Williams and Jack has been ruled out, ditto McCaw, Collins and So'oialo and Carter and Kelleher.
Surely now the onus is on this group of coaches to identify their strongest partnerships and work them hard during the next two years.
Afoa can replace Hayman and be given all the time he needs. Thorn is the new Jack and Anthony Boric can be used off the bench to slowly work him into international rugby. Andy Ellis and Dan Carter could be every bit as established as Marshall and Mehrtens by 2011 and Smith and Nonu are a Hurricanes pairing that could commit to New Zealand longer term if they are told they will be given most of this year and next to work together.
Ireland, like many other Northern Hemisphere sides lack the individual talent of the All Blacks. But what they are doing better is making the most of what they have got by allowing units to become established and offer more than the sum of the component parts.
