Dogged Irish refuse to collapse in second test

It's hard to know whether to admire the Irish for another gutsy display - or to start wondering whether the All Black machine has a transmission failure preventing it getting out of third gear.

There was an expectation last night that the rust that blighted their work in Hamilton would be scraped off to reveal a bright, shiny performance that restored the natural order.

The Irish have a history of running mighty close in the first test only to collapse into a feckless bundle in the second. They did that in 1992 and again 10 years later.

They were supposed to do the same last night.

But the men from the Emerald Isle are not like the Guinness-supping sides of old. This mob have more than just passion. They are well organised, accurate and, in Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll, they have two follow-me heroes who elevate the collective ability to a level that demands they be taken seriously.

The All Blacks took them seriously - but they still found it a bothersome task to subdue and then conquer.

The expected All Black improvement was exponential rather than significant. And there were periods when it was debatable whether there was in fact any improvement at all.

All those who spent last week encouraging the coaches to take Ma'a Nonu out to the back paddock and leave him there might not be so sure he can be dispensed with just yet. His replacement, Casey Laulala, ran straight and hard at times and hit the pop pass just as effectively as Nonu.

But unfortunately, just like Nonu, Laulala had a troubled night with his distribution. He threw one pass early in the second half that was ugly enough to make milk curdle.

No one expected him to prove he was the finished article but there was some hope that he would do enough to cool off the debate about who is the right man to replace Tana Umaga.

Centre is now a vexed issue for the All Blacks. Nonu and Laulala leave nerves jangling and appear to have too much ground to make up between now and the World Cup.

Without a distributor in the No 13 jersey, the deadliest back three in world rugby have been reduced to bit parts these past two weeks.

If it hadn't been for Doug Howlett's impressive defensive scrambling last night, it would have been all too easy to forget he was on the field.

The weather can't be offered as an excuse. Despite torrential rain, the All Blacks didn't curb their ambition. They were still trying to move the ball and they failed to generate width - not because of the conditions, but because the timing and vision simply weren't sharp enough.

There's probably no need to worry about that too much, though. By the time the Tri Nations comes around and Daniel Carter is back on deck, the backs should be better oiled. Helping them settle should be the thought of operating behind a pack that was for more cohesive and dynamic last night than it was in Hamilton.

That improvement in the forwards was directly reflected in the performance of Luke McAlister. Given quick ball, he was far more decisive and secure in his option-taking.

The inclusion of Troy Flavell and Jerome Kaino increased the options at the lineout and there was more quality ball coming off the top.

The real damage was being done in the scrum, where Chris Jack appeared to not be reciprocating Flavell's bind but instead had both arms between Carl Hayman's legs.

The purpose of that ploy was presumably to wheel the Irish scrum, as there were more than a few times where the green jerseys whirled out of control.

No doubt the coaching panel would have wanted to see a bit more made of the obvious dominance they had at scrum.

But it has to be remembered that All Black coach Graham Henry stressed a few times last week that the Irish are the best team in Europe right now. Their efforts in Hamilton and Auckland suggest Henry is probably right.

And that makes it kind of hard to know what to feel.

The best side in Europe can only push a weakened All Black team close for 70 minutes.

We should be generous and say that is reason to believe All Black rugby is in a very good place right now and keep our thoughts about the Northern Hemisphere to ourselves.