Henry makes case for the defence
“You’ve got to be happy when you keep a clean sheet, but we didn’t always finish well and that was frustrating. Our defence was excellent, the best on the tour so far, but we had way too much turnover ball and that wasn’t smart,” he said.
Still, Henry was happy as New Zealand successfully negotiated what he believes could have been perceived as the toughest Test of a five-game autumn series.
With victories over Australia, Scotland and Ireland in the bag, Henry believes his side will get better: “It’s an opportunity to press on from here, you would expect to improve with more game time; hopefully we will get better against Wales and then take it on from there against England.”
And what did he think of Ireland? “They probably played as well as they were allowed. I would imagine they came out with a more expansive game plan but that didn’t happen for them.
“Their cover defence was quite good but they didn’t get much opportunity to score and that is credit to our guys,” he said.
Captain Richie McCaw was delighted with the way his team had adapted in front of what he described as a “respectful” crowd.
“It’s a great stadium, good crowd but the silence for those goal kicks was a bit scary, unusual in our experience,” he said.
McCaw admitted he was greatly relieved at half-time after referee Mark Lawrence awarded a penalty try against Tommy Bowe.
“That first half was frustrating because we had a lot of field position, but all credit to Ireland for keeping us out. Coming up to half time we could have been in a bit of trouble, but the penalty try was a bonus. It took the pressure off.
“Physically, it was a tough battle, pretty intensive, but we eventually got on top of them. I also take my hat off to the back three; Mils (Muliaina) was amazing given the fact he hasn’t had a lot of game time, he had one of the best games in the All Black jersey.”
He also praised fly-half Dan Carter, who put early goalkicking lapses behind him to stamp a degree of class on this game: “I thought he had a great game overall. He does what he does so well., doesn’t he?”
With Munster next on the agenda, New Zealand assistant coach Steve Hansen will spend the next 24 hours warning his charges of the dangers of complacency.
As the All Blacks travel to Limerick to prepare for an historic 30th anniversary game against the European champions, reminders of the famous 1978 12-0 home victory will be ringing in their ears.
Hansen had the players in a theatre last night to watch the famous play Alone It Stands — a timely, witty, but also stark reminder of what the otherwise all-conquering team of ‘78 had to endure, and what might be facing them again at Thomond Park tomorrow.
“We’re under no illusions,” said Hansen. “It’s a great opportunity to blood people in an All Blacks jersey in what will be a fairly hostile, packed and passionate Thomond Park.
“After watching the play and having had a chance to wander around Limerick, I reckon the guys will have had a chance to assess what they (Munster fans) are feeling. It’s as well they get that opportunity before they step out on the park,” he said.
Hansen said the All Blacks deemed it as a great honour to be given the opportunity to officially open the new stadium.
He said: “This is the official opening and it is seen as a mark of respect to us by us. There’s a huge amount of history and tradition that has come through the years and particularly from the 1978 game; everyone knows about it in Limerick and the boys will know about it when they walk around the streets because they will get told about it.”
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