ONE STEP forward, another step back again. As ever with Irish rugby teams, the learning curve is less than smooth, and this development team is no exception.

They trundled on south to Palmerston North this morning to prepare for the Maoris on Tuesday, still kicking themselves all the way for this was one that got away.

Much went right, but so much more went wrong. The Irish had enough ball and enough attacking platforms to win the game two or three times over. They controlled the throw, even if the line out was less than perfect. But they laboured to exploit a stronger scrum.

They set up ruck ball, but then drifted aimlessly across the field, or ran up blind alleys, and turned the ball over seven times in the opening 22 minutes - as often from bad decision making as from heavy one on one contact.

King Country were not exceptional by this tour's standards perhaps a trifle hard hitting around the fringes, and a bit more potent in midfield and at fullback, but that was about it. In truth, as second half captain Gabriel Fulcher later conceded, King Country "were not a good side a little bit better than Thames Valley". But by simply doing most of the basics correctly, the home side found themselves laughing all the way to halftime at a flattering 22-0 to the good. It beggared belief.

The Irish began well enough but as if in slow motion. Coach Brian Ashton, lost for an explanation for the first half, later lamented the decisions to take penalties at goal or kick for touch instead of building up a tempo, thereby reversing the trend of the last two games.

Still, they took the game to King Country and created enough scoring chances to take the lead. Mick Lynch, understandably, betrayed early nerves by sending his first penalty kick to touch into the in goal area. The underused Rob Henderson made a trademark early burst, though one of countless turnovers ensued. And Lynch steered a seventh minute penalty wide.

Ciaran Clarke was counter attacking rather than kicking for touch, and the Irish came again. This time the backs were aligned too deeply behind Lynch and Alan McGrath was nailed. The Shannon centre was generally turned around or over too easily in possession; the AIL has not prepared him physically for standards down here.

While the Irish failed to score off scrums close in, King's Brandon Chase landed a penalty from about five metres inside the Irish half, almost their deepest incursion thus far. Ominously, Johnny Toloi stepped inside Matchett before failing to win the race to his own touchdown.

Another curious feature of this Irish team is that whenever the defence is well organised, tackles are missed - or vice versa. So, in another reverse from the win over Thames Valley, few tackles were missed but the defensive organisation gave King Country some soft tries - "wickedly soft", according to Fulcher.

Sure enough, the dam burst. Ireland conceded 19 points in a 13 minute spell before the break, virtually whenever King Country attacked. A Lynch knock on led to an orthodox blind side back line move, the double skip pass took out the four man Irish defence, and Clarke, lying deep, was an easy, stationary target for Andrew Leatuafi's ensuing chip ahead and touchdown.

Centre Eddie Robinson then stepped inside Lynch for the next after the initial damage had been done out wide; then a simple scissors cut through a huge hole for Robinson to off load to Chase for the third. In between, the Irish scrum rumbled over the home line, only for Dean Macartney to fumble the touchdown.

The tactical substitutions again proved a catalyst. Stephen McIvor added some bite and urgency, while Richard Governey was credited by Ashton for reorganising the defence, and he also demonstrated his variety of passing. The pack stopped hunting the ball in eights like a schools side (a young one at that), with Kieran Dawson supporting, linking and making decisive inroads.

Henderson and Dawson played key roles in tries for David Coleman and McIvor, while the superior Irish scrum got a belated pushover try, leaving them well placed at 22-19 down with a quarter to go.

And yet. with the momentum very much with them, the Irish went to the guns cabinet, loaded up, and aimed straight for their feet again. In particular, Ashton cited the decision to hold the ball at the base of the scrum, when quick feeds and backrow moves have been "very successful in both the Five Nations and on this tour. It let their number nine in on top of our number eight, with their runners following our runners to the blind side. It was very, very slack thinking, and no one did anything about it."

Another soft try killed the momentum. Leatuafi stepped inside Coleman to turn the Irish team, and although substitute Conor O'Shea made a trysaving tackle under the posts, Andrew Watt scored in support.

Four minutes from the end of normal time, the industrious Stephen Ritchie burst through to score under the posts, but you sensed this was going to be one of those infuriatingly frustrating nights.

An irritating referee, who once risibly penalised Stephen McIvor for taking a quick tap penalty no more than two yards from the exact spot, missed a glaring off side by the King Country backs, then spotted one by the Irish, which left Chase to complete the scoring and the misery.