It has been a long time, 13 years to be precise, since the All Blacks reacted to a victory over Ireland with not much more than a quick smile, shoulder shrug and definitive sense that it was no biggie.
But that was essentially the reaction in Chicago – a quiet satisfaction rather than outright elation, because for all that the All Blacks were taken with their own performance in the final 20 minutes in which they unleashed their most accurate, cohesive and fluid performance of the last two years, they have a sneaky suspicion that they encountered an Ireland team on the wane.
It’s always a bit hard to tell what’s going on deep within the All Blacks and accurately gauge their true emotional state, as their brand is built on stoicism and humility, which end up coming across as a kind of j
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