Eire’s 40-29 win in Chicago 9 years in the past was one of many apogees within the workforce’s historical past, whereas the depth and stakes of the World Cup quarter-final extracted herculean efforts from each side in what’s extensively thought-about the rivalry’s apex.

However Saturday’s entry didn’t resemble both of these video games.

Neither workforce reached anyplace close to their most, and with a raft of protracted stoppages for sort out opinions and accidents, it did not ship an interest-generating spectacle in a rustic which is internet hosting the World Cup in six years.

In the end, New Zealand won’t care. For them, a long-awaited fifth Grand Slam of the northern hemisphere stays in play after a second-half surge that yielded three tries in quarter-hour.

Eire, nonetheless, have a lot to stew on.

Final 12 months, they opened their autumn marketing campaign with a loss to the All Blacks. Their efficiency in Dublin that evening was one of many flattest of the Farrell period and so they weren’t a lot better right here.

There have been, no less than, some positives. They responded strongly to Tadhg Beirne’s extremely controversial early crimson card to guide 10-0 because of a Jack Crowley penalty and Tadhg Furlong’s first strive since 2021.

Elsewhere, Stuart McCloskey, a shock inclusion at inside centre, shone in his first look towards the All Blacks earlier than being pressured off injured, whereas Ryan Baird staked his declare to be a daily fixture within the again row.

However whereas they led for 57 minutes, Eire by no means appeared totally in management. Having misplaced a tenacious operator in Beirne, they had been bested on the breakdown and missed essential tackles, whereas a creaky lineout blunted their capability to create alternatives and ramp up scoreboard strain.