Wynne Gray: Irish miss a trick by delaying their arrival in Taranaki

Ronan O'Gara of Ireland. Photo / Getty Images

Whoever advised the Irish to delay their trip to New Plymouth for Saturday's test against the All Blacks until Thursday night made a gaffe.

The tourists will find their supporters there - but they will have lost a chance to get many more onside.

Instead they have let the All Blacks, who are in Taranaki all week, win the opening rounds of the PR battle by deciding to stay in Auckland until early Thursday evening.

Ireland are expected to land in Auckland late tomorrow and have decided to train in the City of Sails, rather than move on to New Plymouth.

It is a short-sighted decision on a number of fronts.

Instead of embracing the Taranaki locals, they have alienated enough of them to suggest they might switch their allegiance to the US when Ireland pitch up for their September 11 World Cup game next season.

If the Irish like battling traffic congestion, fine - but brief bus journeys rather than being stuck in Auckland gridlock are surely more sensible for a group who will have endured a tough journey halfway around the globe.

Maybe New Zealand's version of Suzie was at work here, planning the travel details.

There will be those with Irish connections who will watch the tourists practise in Auckland and they will be made welcome.

But the test is hundreds of kilometres away in New Plymouth.

Had the Irish travelled there on Monday, they could have embraced the atmosphere they will seek next season, they could have connected with rugby-mad youngsters in the area.

On their rest day, they could have taken advantage of the many activities on offer in the region.

They would have got a feel for the local conditions and been able to settle in for another tilt at finding a historic first win against the All Blacks.

That might happen because the All Blacks have been bent and buckled out of shape this year.

But you suspect the Irish might have missed a trick here, and will come into better form for the second game of their tour, against the NZ Maori in Rotorua.

Rugby fans in New Zealand would love to see tours revived. Those chances are remote as the changing professional landscape promotes more truncated visits.

But even with drive-by trips, teams have a chance to connect with their hosts, to discover some of the magic men like Willie John McBride and Mike Gibson told of their travels to the Land of the Long White Cloud.

Sadly the latest Irish tourists have missed that chance.