New Zealand v Ireland Second Test: That was a tougher game to comment on than the first Test. At 17-0, I really felt that the All Blacks were going to keep clocking the points up and win the game by 30 or 35.

But Paul O'Connell's try gave Ireland a lifeline and that was really good captaincy by Brian O'Driscoll when going for those lineouts in the corner just before half-time rather than taking the three points.

Ireland, and particularly their scrums, were under pressure but they really showed their mental strength and positive attitude to get themselves back into the match. Suddenly the All Blacks realised, "Oh hell, we're in a bit of a fight here."

I still didn't feel Ireland were going to go on and win the game, or if they did it would be against the run of play. I felt a draw, maybe 20-all, might be on for a while. But the All Blacks had the greater scoring ability and always looked capable of making some yardage when keeping it tight, when picking and going, or attacking around the fringes.

They had the greater ability to be direct and score. Nevertheless, I think these have been really good tests for Ireland and have given them things they can build on.

It was disappointing for Ireland in that they made a lot of mistakes in the first few minutes - too many turnovers and penalties. They settled down after the first 20 minutes and were a hell of a lot more accurate.

Again, building on from last week, the lineout was fantastic. The All Blacks tactically weren't going to kick the ball out, so denying Ireland too many throws, and what throws they did have were mostly off penalties. Even though the official stats gave the All Blacks 18 lineouts to Ireland's 16, Ireland were quite happy to kick for territory, put the ball out and attack the All Blacks' lineout.

Ireland clearly did a lot of scrummaging work in the light of the first Test and tried to copy the All Blacks in getting three-quarter set. The All Blacks do this to come down quite late and this gives them momentum going into the "hit". Ireland tried to counter that by doing the same.

The All Blacks began to establish an edge by getting the wheel on the Irish put-in. I'm quite amazed how technical scrummaging is here in New Zealand. It's all about the speed of engagement and how important the hooker is in obtaining the optimum angle of 120 degrees. They go into it in real technical depth, they analyse every individual at scrum time, and everyone is always working the whole time.

In the second half you could see them pull on the left and a couple of times on the right. It's quite difficult for a referee to say whether it's a deliberate wheel, but they caused a lot of disruption to the Irish game in the second half by wheeling the Irish scrum both ways and created some pretty vital turnovers.

Again, Ireland's ball retention was good, the defence was good and Ireland will leave New Zealand having gained a huge amount of respect from the All Blacks and the public.

Ireland have held the All Blacks pretty close in successive games, and though they were short two or three players, like Dan Carter, Jerry Collins and maybe Rico Gear, the All Blacks weren't far off their top side.

O'Connell gave an outstanding performance - he was solid, strong, and accurate on Saturday.

And I was really impressed over the two Tests by Denis Leamy. I knew Leamy was a big schoolboy star in Rockwell and he's since fought his way into the Munster team and now the Irish team. He's been the star loose forward of the series. He's got the all-round attributes: he has pace, he's skilful and he's pretty physical. He's going to be in the Irish team for a long time and perhaps a future leader too for Ireland.

I was really impressed with most of Ronan O'Gara's two games. He'll be disappointed with a couple of key missed tackles, which ended up costing seven points both times, and Luke McAlister's try came at a crucial time. But his general composure, kicking and all-round game were pretty strong.

Ireland will have to put these games in the bank and remember what it was like to play a team like the All Blacks. I can't stress enough that the more Ireland play the front-line teams the better they will develop.

Ireland have to set their sights a bit higher than going to the World Cup and thinking if they make the quarter-finals that's a success.

They're not too far away from getting to the next level and converting these performances into results. They need to try and get more games like these and next week's. I think Australia will win but that will be another really valuable learning experience. Eddie O'Sullivan also needs to develop the squad a bit more. The All Blacks have been working on their depth for quite a while. That's the luxury New Zealand have.

Eddie needs to do that because at the moment if he loses one or two key players, like O'Connell, O'Driscoll or O'Gara, that's the death-knell for an Irish performance. Eddie needs to prepare for the possibility of injuries to key personnel in key positions.

The All Blacks will be relieved to get out of the two games. The weather didn't help Saturday's game as a spectacle and probably helped Ireland. There wasn't the same pace and tempo as there was in Hamilton. There's been a lot of talking about how little use Eddie has made of the bench but because the pace wasn't the same as last week, it didn't become an issue. He needs to develop a lot more strength in depth, and he's got to be more aware of how important his bench is going to be. That's probably the one priority area Ireland need to keep focusing on.

(In an interview with Gerry Thornley)