Late, late show from McAlister wraps it up

Casey Laulala looks to release the ball. Picture / Chris Skelton

All Blacks 27 Ireland 17

Graham Henry might have labelled this test as something of a trial and it was a trial all right - a trial of the All Blacks' mettle and endurance.

The Irish had clearly misplaced the script because history told us the All Blacks were supposed to win at a canter - in both 1992 and 2002, the Irish pushed the All Blacks close in the opening test match before being blown away in the second. And for 30 minutes last night it looked like history would, indeed, repeat itself as the All Blacks opened out to a 17-0 lead.

But the Irish of 2006 are made of sterner stuff and, just as they did in Hamilton last week, threatened to claim a momentous win on the back of some resolute defending and a never-say-die attitude.

Brian O'Driscoll had cited the All Blacks' arrogance midweek, and perhaps they are, but they know how to win test matches and have now extended their unbeaten streak over Ireland to 20 games and 101 years.

They finally broke Irish hearts when Luke McAlister sliced through the Irish defence to score the clincher in the 71st minute.

It wasn't exactly a vintage All Blacks performance but the dreadful conditions at Eden Park certainly didn't help. In fact, they could only be described as miserable considering the heavy rain and icy conditions and in a different era when grounds suffered badly it might have been known as a water-polo test.

A majority of the 44,000-strong crowd might have been thinking that the option to watch the game from their own couch was probably a better idea.

It had an inevitably detrimental effect on the quality of rugby and the All Blacks regularly decided to keep the ball close as the forwards invariably rumbled it up or kicks were put in behind the Irish defence.

The home side attempted the occasional foray at their opponents but it was fraught with danger given the handling difficulties and they often put themselves under pressure by trying it in the wrong parts of the field.

Byron Kelleher was the first to trouble the scoreboard, when he buried over from the back of a ruck in the sixth minute and it felt as if normal transmission had resumed when Clark Dermody picked up his first test try inside the opening half hour to extend the lead to 17-0.

Dermody's try had an element of controversy as it looked like lock Chris Jack had knocked the ball on when driving for the line after a good rolling maul but Woodland's finest didn't seem to mind considering it was only his second test.

That was when the script was discarded as the Irish showed they are, indeed, a plucky lot.

As most muttered disapproval of halfback Peter Stringer taking a quick tap when an easy three points were on offer, Paul O'Connell then swatted away Kelleher, slipped through the tackles of Mils Muliaina and Casey Laulala and got to his feet again to sneak over for an important try.

McAlister potted another penalty before the Irish hit back on the stroke of halftime. Once again, they passed up a penalty opportunity but drove over after a clean O'Connell take close to the All Blacks' line. As hooker Jerry Flannery was about to celebrate his try, a stoush flared up. Joe Rokocoko might have regretted his opponent as he lined up against Irish prop Marcus Horan and Richie McCaw put a fatherly hand on Troy Flavell's shoulder as if to say 'no, son, leave it alone'.

Ronan O'Gara landed the first points of the second half to close the gap to 20-17 and then the Irish had their best period of the match as they played most of the game inside the All Blacks' half. They won the kicking competitions, preyed on All Black mistakes - and there were a fair few - and rushed up on defence to put enormous pressure on the home side.

What resulted was a classic arm wrestle and it took until the 71st minute for the All Blacks to settle the issue when McAlister sliced through to score under the posts.

In the wash-up, so to speak, the All Blacks extended their winning run at home to 18, equalling their best in history between 1994 and 1998. But it was not joy that circulated around Eden Park last night, rather relief.

All Blacks 27 (B. Kelleher, C. Dermody, L. McAlister tries, L. McAlister 3 cons, 2 pens)
Ireland 17 (P. O'Connell, J. Flannery tries, R. O'Gara 2 cons, pen).
HT: 20-14.