Ireland’s hopes of ending New Zealand’s remarkable Eden Park record never truly recovered after a series of costly individual mistakes handed the initiative to the All Blacks.
Andy Farrell’s men eventually fell to a 40-21 defeat, extending New Zealand’s unbeaten run at the famous venue to 53 matches.
More worryingly for Ireland, it was another heavy defeat against one of rugby’s elite nations, with Farrell’s side now losing six consecutive Tests against New Zealand, South Africa and France by double-digit margins.
While there were positives to take from Ireland’s set-piece and periods of attacking intent, too many players endured off-nights when the pressure was at its highest.
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Sam Prendergast
There were glimpses of quality, but far too few to outweigh a difficult afternoon.
Prendergast deserves credit for his defensive commitment and produced a lovely pass to send Hugo Keenan over for Ireland’s second-half try. His kicking to touch was also generally excellent, aside from one costly error.
Unfortunately, almost everything else lacked the accuracy required at Test level. A pass into touch inside the New Zealand 22 wasted one promising attack, while another poor pass drifted into touch early in the second half. Too often he stood flat behind the gain line, allowing the All Blacks defence to line him up without ever worrying about his running threat.
He also finished with four missed tackles, although his willingness to put his body on the line was better than many critics will acknowledge.
Perhaps the biggest winner from Ireland’s summer tour has been the injured Jack Crowley, whose position in the pecking order now looks even more secure.
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