All Blacks 21 Ireland 11
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A chill wind came ripping through the capital last night, one that no one would have felt more acutely than All Black coach Graham Henry.
The All Blacks got their win, but they didn't deliver the convincing performance required to exorcise the demons of Cardiff. The main aim
of last night was to distract the nation from obsessing about a game of rugby played eight months ago and give something more contemporary with which to assess the merits of the reappointed coaching panel.
To do that, Henry desperately needed a new hero for the public conscious or for someone like Ma'a Nonu or Jerome Kaino to re-cast themselves as entirely superior versions of the men they once were.
He needed cohesion and authority from the off and for the All Blacks 105-year superiority complex to come beaming through.
Instead, there was hesitancy, times of uncertainty, the occasional bout of tidy pick and drive and some patchy kicking from Dan Carter.
All that helped Ireland, a decent if largely unimposing side, sense they were facing nothing particularly fearsome and do their bit in making life awkward. They played smartly to the conditions. They drove it well and kicked it well - all you have to do on a night heaven-sent for ducks.
As the Irish stayed controlled and disciplined, it took the All Blacks 60 minutes to get in front and then a shimmy from Carter and a bullocking run from Nonu to finally put them back into their box.
But it was a struggle and both Australia and South Africa, even England who await this weekend, will have seen very little to make them nervous.
The All Blacks were adequate without ever being scary at scrum time. Their lineout was solid without ever being dominant and while they didn't budge an inch at the collision nor did they do much in the way of intimidation.
It was, at best, an okay performance, but the trouble for the All Blacks now in these times of mass migration is they are just not well enough equipped to get away with playing okay and winning at a canter.
Sustained excellence is what this team has to deliver, both to compensate for the individual shortcomings compared with sides of old and also to get the nation believing in Henry again.
Mitigating factors could be held responsible, such as the lack of preparation time. That might explain why there was some appalling work in kick-off reception and some disorganisation of the blindside defence that led to Paddy Wallace being able to carve his way to a memorable try after 20 minutes.
The weather didn't help, but 12 years ago in the same city, the All Blacks went through 80 minutes of torrential rain making only three errors.
And, really, the All Black way has never been to look for excuses. It has been to locate the negatives and eradicate them and build on the positives.
Without question there needs to be significant work done of kick-off reception. Someone needs to take control and there also needs to be more authority under the high ball.
Carter won't have been ecstatic with his performance. Too often he caught the ball like a Saturday morning hacker, hitting it fat which failed to turn the Irish. His break that created Nonu's try was a welcome reminder that he does still have the capacity to leave the safety of the pocket and produce the magic his sabbatical deal says he possesses.
While Carter made the initial opening, there was still plenty for Nonu to do and he showed the value of 100kg midfielders when he was able to fend the Irish defenders off for long enough to build the required momentum to slide over the greasy turf.
It capped a slow burning performance for the recalled Nonu. His first touch was a shocker and for most of the first half he was a peripheral figure. He slowly came into the game more, using his power to break the advantage line and gradually allow the All Black forwards to build the momentum and platform to wear the Irish down.
In searching for further positives the All Blacks can point to some improving pick-and-drive from the forwards, and of course they can point to the fact they won. Not convincingly but at least they won and that for Henry will have to do in keeping the nation off his back.