Some interesting comments in here about just how good a performance this actually was.
I'm with those who say it was not great. Like Dale said, there was absolutely no press and as a few have said, most times when Ireland bothered, we couldn't cope. I would add that there wasn't much player movement between the thirds and most of the time our ball speed was too slow, but these two things can be excused given this team hasn't played together.
I am hugely excited about the quality of our player pool. We have several players worth watching and we could build a very talented footballing side. I enjoyed what the team attempted to do and I liked the intent. I thoroughly enjoyed the moments where things came together.
I'm relieved that Hay is championing playing this way. But it is only what everyone else in the World is doing.
I'm also going to have trouble tolerating the rhetoric, which is condescending for past players and teams. We tend to forget it, but New Zealand has always produced skillful players and I can think of a many old boys who would add a lot to this current side.
A former national team player, who is about 15 years my senior, once said to me "you young fellas think we just kicked the ball in the air all the time. But we didn't, we played long and short, fast and slow and the better players became much more technical because of it".
