Stu Wilson: Read leads impressive team performance

Kieran Read had a strong game for the All Blacks capped off with two tries. Photo / Getty Images

Former All Black captain Stu Wilson shares his thoughts on the All Blacks' 38-18 win over Ireland.

I thought before this game what are they going to do these Irish boys? Which Irish team will we see?

They were out here in June and lost a player in the first 14 minutes but still scored four tries against the All Blacks.

But then they struggled against Samoa and South Africa in recent weeks.

Despite that though I still thought they were going to give the All Blacks a fight as the Irish always come out absolutely on fire, they play with excitement and adrenalin which always promises a good match.

You've just to take them on and hopefully your patience and game play with take that fire out. So the big question mark was how long they can go for?

They started off really well, scoring the first try, but then for 35 minutes they didn't score a point. Meanwhile in that time the All Blacks scored three tries which was the difference in the game.

Scoring those tries just before and after halftime was crucial for the All Blacks because that is always a real gut buster to let in a try on either side of the break.

Despite that thought the Irish contributed to the game better than anyone else this year. But credit must go to the All Blacks as well.

Did we get frustrated by their defence? No we didn't. We just went about our business. We played a lot of football for not a lot of points in the first half, apart from Boric's try just before halftime.

The telling statistic at halftime was that Ireland had made 79 tackles and we made 27. Basically Ireland were tackling three times to our one so eventually they had to wilt. You can't make 80 tackles in one half and expect to make another 80 in the next half, you're going to blow a gasket.

They did well but I was impressed with how our guys came off the bench. The tempo didn't get sloppy this time the flow of the game just kept going.

Kieran Read, who I thought was man of the match against England last week, was outstanding yet again. No mistakes, carries they ball really well, makes a huge amount of tackles, links with the movements and also scored two tries.

I was very impressed by Andy Ellis and the way he distributed the ball in the opening 15 minutes. His distribution astonished me. He was always there at the breakdown, there was no steps in his pass just straight off the deck.

And good old Graham Henry got his 100th test win as coach which is an unbelievable record. That's about 77-78 percent record which is phenomenal.

You have to applaud our guys but at the same time you have to applaud Ireland. They came to the game and they compete for 80 minutes. They went off the ball for the 35 minutes in the middle of the match when we got three tries and that's what they'll look at.

If New Zealand sporting fans can learn anything from that game it's how much respect the Irish crowd had when Dan Carter was kicking for goal. At one point they were singing loudly after Ferris scored but went silent as soon as Carter placed his hands on the tee.

On the back of the league fans booing the Australian national anthem last month and the way rugby fans treat opposition kickers, it was refreshing to see a crowd treat an opponent with the respect they deserve.

Something New Zealand fans should think about in the future.

Stu Wilson was talking to nzherald.co.nz sports editor Cameron McMillan.

- Herald online