A decade ago, when last in Dunedin, Ireland rattled the All Blacks' cage by narrowly losing the first Test 24-21. Sean Fitzpatrick came into the visitors' dressing-room and simply said: "Well played Ireland. See you next Saturday."

Shaken and stirred, the All Blacks were true to Fitzpatrick's veiled threat, and won the second Test in Wellington by 59-6. So once again, after another story of what-might-have-been in Carisbrook, the tourists face an even bigger test in Auckland next week, though no one is more mindful of this than the Irish squad.

Back in the sanctuary of the Irish dressing-room within minutes of the full-time whistle, Keith Wood addressed the players. Holding his crest, he passionately invoked previous Irish tours dating back 10 years and more when back-to-back "performances" were invariably beyond them. He vowed there would be no repeat of this trend next Saturday.

Were Ireland beaten out the gate in the second Test it would undermine many of the positives to be gained from this ultra-competitive performance on a dewy and cold Saturday night in Carisbrook with the temperature just above freezing.

That it didn't earn an historic first Test win over the almighty All Blacks will rankle with all of them, for this was winable. Damn it, chances to beat the All Blacks don't come often, and next Saturday might be the last opportunity any of this squad have on New Zealand soil.

Eddie O'Sullivan and the rest of them will have had decidedly mixed views on Saturday night. All the coaching staff can reflect on a job well done; O'Sullivan, in particular, for the way he prepared the side from the embers of a long domestic season.

Likewise Niall O'Donovan is entitled to be satisfied with the lineouts (where Ireland upset the All Blacks early and thereafter traded equally), the offensive and defensive mauls, the scrums and the general performance of the pack.

They even out-rucked the home side, and Keith Gleeson's presence at the breakdown gave Ireland another dimension.

The defensive system, which was far more aggressive than in Twickenham and Paris, also made a big statement of intent on behalf of Mike Ford. Just look at the many foot-rushes and interceptions that followed mistakes by the All Blacks. They were all over them like a rash.

In this and much else, both figuratively and literally, Ireland took a step backwards to take a step forward again.

No one played badly, and some, such as the omnipotent Wood and Brian O'Driscoll, who added a multi-faceted kicking game to his world-class package, were outstanding. Girvan Dempsey has rarely played better, Justin Bishop defended gamely and Geordan Murphy's recovering pace probably saved two tries.

The back row went well, and with the All Blacks hardly, if ever, getting beyond fourth phase, the game suited Anthony Foley. The tight five stood toe to toe, with Gary Longwell again an unfussy, unsung hero. Another big plus along with Gleeson was the bullish return of Reggie Corrigan. Reggie is back alright.

Privately, O'Sullivan and Co would have shared the fears that Ireland could have been tonked. They were anything but, and competed from first minute to last. Two phases of six and seven rucks which led to O'Driscoll's early drop goal set the tone.

Alas, there was also a warning in there, for despite delivering in all the areas where there might have been concerns beforehand, ironically Ireland couldn't penetrate enough to score a try.

One has to go back to that fateful night in Lens in October 1999 for the last time that happened; this was the first time in the 24 games since O'Sullivan came aboard that Ireland have gone tryless.

Well though John Kelly played, and brilliantly though O'Driscoll adapted to inside centre, perhaps the additional weaponry which a Maggs, Henderson or Horgan might have added to the middle would have given more second- phase attacking options. On the night that was in it, Denis Hickie's world-class finishing ability wasn't missed as much.

Admittedly, Ireland didn't enjoy the rub of the green. Three times they crossed the line only to have the scores over-ruled. Around the half-hour mark, Murphy and O'Driscoll pounced in turn, and of the supposed knock-ons which preceded them the one against Bishop when he jumped for Murphy's cross-kick looked highly questionable.

Two minutes into the second-half, Murphy was desperately unlucky not to ground the ball an inch or two infield when brilliantly gathering O'Driscoll's cross-kick.

Furthermore, Ireland had 53 per cent of both possession and territory, and Ronan O'Gara missed three kickable penalties, which undermined an otherwise good all-round game.

Yet there's no guarantee that David Humphreys, who is also struggling with this cursed yellow ball, would have done significantly better. Besides, when push came to shove, Ireland only led for the four minutes after O'Driscoll's drop goal, whereas New Zealand led from the 36th minute once Andrew Mehrtens brilliantly set up Doug Howlett's try with a set-piece score of such stunning simplicity and precise incision that it hardly belonged in this game.

Jonah Lomu's impact replacement and Leon McDonald's late try, helped by Simon Easterby's unfortunate slip when Lomu gathered Justin Marshall's boxkick, gave the All Blacks some late breathing space.

Below par and error-prone though as the All Blacks were, O'Sullivan conceded afterwards: "I think by and large we gave the All Blacks very few opportunities, but to their credit when they get an opportunity they don't waste it and that was probably the difference between the two teams tonight."

Whether the All Black pack can supply better quality ball remains to be seen, but without a silver salver service Marshall was ponderous and the ripple effect ensnared an off-colour Andrew Mehrtens and Aaron Mauger. Even so, it's hard to think that the All Blacks will make another 17 handling errors next Saturday.

And just as this new ball had a negative effect on the match, the handling errors might well be attributed to the insistence of television that Carisbrook stage its first night Test.

As against Italy the week before, the All Blacks were seemingly caught unawares by the ferocity with which opponents legally competed for ball at the breakdown.

Watching them flounder a little under real Test match pressure, the thought occurred that, for all its intensity and continuity, in some respects the much-vaunted Super 12 is poor preparation for Test rugby.

Once again support for the Irish abroad was remarkable; ex-pats from Australia swelled their ranks to about 5,000, who often out-sang the disgruntled home fans in the 28,000 attendance.

The latter, like their team, have been indulged and spoiled by the try feast that is the Super 12, where continuity is God. And so, largely somnolent save for when there were spot prizes at half-time, they booed their heroes off after winning.

Well, boo hoo. Sometimes games go like this one. It's called Test match rugby.