A solid Ireland side did not lie down to the menace of the world’s No.1 team in Dublin – but they could not translate opportunities when they ventured into the All Blacks half, and could never build themselves into a game that ultimately New Zealand controlled.

For the first 20 to 30 minutes, the All Blacks had far too much class – the clear difference between the sides being the fact that New Zealand have now recorded 11 wins in 2008 (beating the South Africa, Australia, England and Ireland at least twice this year) and Ireland were unprepared for the intensity that the All Blacks bought to the game.

A fair penalty-try awarded to Richie McCaw after a sublime Ma’a Nonu grubber kick was the difference between the teams as the first half ended with a 10-3 advantage to the All Blacks. New Zealand had dominated possession and territory and Ireland were still in the game, but in the second half they were not allowed into the match by an ever-evolving All Blacks team.

Ireland did have their moments. Their scrum was strong, never losing the ball on their own feed, and twice disrupting the put-in from the All Blacks. David Wallace effectively outplayed his illustrious opposite Richie McCaw and was a threat in the loose, and new inside centre Luke Fitzgerald is an exciting new talent for the Irish and was the only man in green to create game-breaking plays.

But it was the lack of input from Ireland’s marquee players that killed their cause. Brian O’Driscoll had a quiet game in his 50th Test, and despite defensive switches to the inside could not shackle the All Black runners. Paul O’Connell was completely outplayed by the All Black twin pillars at lock, and again Ronan O’Gara showed that he cannot control a game against the Irish bogey team.

Statistically, the All Blacks were brilliant. They played the game at the right end of the field, and gone is the compulsion to run the ball from anywhere on the field – but when they did run, they constantly made inroads, notching five times more running metres than the Irish and making six clean line breaks and nine offloads. They dominated the tackle area, winning over 90% of their rucks and having close to a 95% tackling success rate.

Indeed, their defence has been the catalyst for their European successes, now keeping Scotland and Ireland from breaching their line. The All Blacks' one-on-one defence and scrambling cover umbrella is winning them games, with the men in black coming around in an arc when defending their line – a tactic that teams are finding very difficult to violate.

While the dynamic duo of McCaw and Dan Carter had solid if not spectacular games, it is the continued advancement of surrounding players that is making this All Black team such a threat. Ali Williams is revelling in his role as senior lock, and is arguably one of the finest locks in world rugby with another man-of-the-match performance. Jerome Kaino is settling into his role as a defensive dreadnought as well as being a genuine line-out option for New Zealand.

Nonu had his finest game in a black jersey this year, showing an embryonic kicking game to add to his tag as the most penetrative running back in world rugby – with Carter looking far more assured with the abrasiveness of a hard running centre at his back. And despite baby son Max undergoing health issues, Mils Muliaina again showed his class after a long lay-off to show why he is now considered debatably the world’s pre-eminent full-back.  

The 22-3 result was also significant for the achievement of some important milestones. It was the 53rd win of Graham Henry’s reign (in 61 matches) which now gives him a 87% winning record. Only Fred Allen (1966-68, 14 wins, 0 losses) has a better winning percentage as an All Blacks coach. It was New Zealand’s 11th win of the season, the fourth consecutive year where the All Blacks have won more than ten calendar Test matches.

But most importantly, it will ensure that the All Blacks will finish the year as the top ranking nation in world rugby, which will see them enter the 2011 World Cup on home soil as the top seeded team.