After watching the All Blacks dominate France for their most complete victory of the Nations Championship series, head coach Dave Rennie believes his side still have significant improvement in them.
Rennie’s men scored six tries to three in the 40-21 bonus point victory at Eden Park in what was a step up in intensity and accuracy from their wins over France and Italy this month.
Ireland, the world’s No.3 side, have been big rivals over the past four years or so but the All Blacks made them look ordinary at times, especially in a first half during which the men in green were often chasing shadows on their way to a 28-7 halftime deficit.
The All Blacks’ set piece fronted impressively, with Rennie’s changes – the return of Patrick Tuipulotu to lock, Tupou Vaa’i’s switch to blindside flanker, and left wing Josh Moorby starting his first Test – all paying handsome dividends.
However, the head coach believes there is more to come.
“We’ve got a lot more in us,” Rennie said. “I reckon we can be a lot better. But what we’ve been able to put out on the park in three weeks is pleasing and exciting.”
Inspired and enabled by the work of their big men, Ruben Love pulled the strings expertly at No.10, the midfield of Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea was creative with the ball and destructive without it and the back three of Moorby, Damian McKenzie and Will Jordan constantly alert to opportunities.
Attention will inevitably move on to the All Blacks’ epic seven-week tour of South Africa and the four upcoming Tests against the world champions, but for Rennie and company there is no underestimating the significance of this performance.
“They’re such a good side, Ireland," Rennie said. "We asked a lot of questions of them. They defended really well for big parts. If you give them access into your end of the field they can hurt you.
“I thought the balance of our game was really good tonight. We looked after the ball really well. Our big men carried and went a little more direct. Smarter kicking created opportunities for us and overall we defended really well.
“It’s a nice way to wrap up three weeks.”
As for South Africa, who thrashed Wales 43-0 in Durban overnight, Rennie described them as a “different beast”.
“They put a B side out last week that beat an excellent Scotland team. I’m really excited. We’ve worked really hard and put a lot of detail into our game. The boys have really embraced it. I think we’ve got a really good balance of working hard but enjoying it and having fun.
“The exciting thing is we’ll come out of Africa and regardless of results, [we’ll be] in a much better place. We’ll know more about the boys and our game model… we’ll be able to really hone in on our culture. We’ve got a captured audience for seven weeks and we’ll make the most of it.”
The All Blacks will named an extended tour squad of 44 players in one week.
Hooker Codie Taylor, who left the field with a calf strain after 31 minutes last night, will likely miss the first two matches against the Stormers on August 8 and Sharks four days later.
The status of No.10 Love, who played on for several minutes after hurting a knee in the second half but was forced from the field, is unknown but not thought to be serious.
A day after the victory, attack coach Mike Blair agreed the All Blacks had improvements to make, especially around their finishing.
There was a sense at the ground that the All Blacks had Ireland badly listing and that a few more surgical strikes would sink them completely but it wouldn’t quite come; a reflection on the home side's errors but testament, too, to the visitors’ determination.
“It’s definitely a stepping stone,” Blair said when asked how the match would set up the All Blacks for their tour. “We’re also impressed with how good South Africa have been in their recent Test matches. They’ve mixed and matched their teams without seemingly skipping a beat.”
Blair, a former Scotland international halfback who toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 2009, knows a thing or two about the resilience required on such an odyssey.
“One of Dave’s super strengths is pulling people together and we’ll definitely need that in South Africa,” Blair said.
“We’ll have 80-ish management and players and it’s literally us against the rest of South Africa. We’ll have to be tight. There will be some testing times – it’s a tough schedule but we also believe it’s a schedule that will accelerate our learning.”
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