PLAYER REACTION NEW ZEALAND: THIS IS perhaps over simplifying matters, but New Zealand fullback Mils Muliaina admitted that a giant leap towards quelling the natives in Croke Park was to nullify Ronan O'Gara.

This starts with the Kiwi forwards ensuring he is on the back foot. Check. Then you race down the Cork man's channel at every opportunity. Check. Jimmy Cowan's early block down certainly helped, while the surprisingly impressive fielding and deep positioning of Fijian wingers Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu put paid to an effective kicking game.

O'Gara sought to exploit Sivivatu's perceived weakness under swirling ball, but he made just the one handling error and returned a few punts with interest.

Muliaina produced one of his best performances in black despite being a late arrival on tour due to complications in the birth of his now healthy first child, Max.

"I just think we put a lot of pressure on him," he said of O'Gara. "There are some kicks he didn't get quite right. I was perhaps out of position a few times, but it just seemed to come off the side of the boot or we charged him down. We really wanted to eliminate his kicking game. I felt we done that. We worked very hard as a back three to catch the ball on the full. The guys made it a lot easier for us because they put a lot of pressure on his kicks."

In his defence, when O'Gara, now 31, does eventually exit the Test arena, Irish rugby will be in serious trouble, such are the limitations of those in his slipstream.

With no evidence of a running game - again, you need to have the ball to run - Ireland struggled before crumbling in the face of New Zealand's relentless intensity.

It's never a good sign when one secondrow is awarded man of the match and the other finds himself bearing down on a winger five metres from the try line. Ali Williams picked up his first bottle of bubbly in 59 Test outings, while Brad Thorn ignored the supporting Richie McCaw to power through Tommy Bowe for a try that sealed Ireland's grim fate with over half an hour remaining.

Both men spoke impressively about what had just happened. Williams, simply put, is a funny guy.

Did you score the try? "Yes, your honour, I did."

The TMO subsequently denied him a perfect evening.

"I scored it, and then the ref got there. Obviously he was a bit late to get there and see me ground it. It's just one of those things."

Your locking partner got the job done? "Ah, I'm going to hear it all week. It's going to be painful. It's going to hurt."

For all his joking, Williams runs the All Black lineout. A team leader, his vast experience came into play when the crowd got on his back about stalling the lineouts - an area in which Ireland desperately needed to make an impact given the amount of ball green jerseys were kicking off the field.

"We couldn't even hear ourselves think sometimes at the lineouts. The crowd was getting at me to call it and I was saying 'just relax'.

"It was pretty special. You could see what this meant to the Irish people. This ground. For us, we just used that energy and directed it for our own personal reasons."

He dictated the tempo of play out of touch. Basically, he silenced 81,214 people.

"I said to (referee Mark Lawrence), 'I can't communicate with someone who can't hear me. Give me time'. He gave me time. He just didn't give me a try!"

Brad Thorn has the air of a statesman. Listening to him, you realise why he arrived back from rugby league with such a lofty reputation. For someone who plays with such bloody-minded intent, you would forgive him for not being the sharpest tool in the box. And then the 33-year-old talks about pre-match nerves: "For me, I feared the Irish. I feared losing. There is a history of 20 Tests, no loss. It's something at the (Brisbane) Broncos, we used to fear. Teams always wanted to knock you off. I think that is a good thing. It was nice to be nervous at my age, you know?

"82,000 people, a very special place in Ireland to play. I just feel it was a big event. We are all very privileged, to be honest."

The feeling is mutual.

"I just think there is something special about this team, and I have been with a lot of teams. There is some real character in this team. I remember watching (Sean) Fitzpatrick and that. They used to win ugly. They'd be three points down and they would just get that try. It's been a while since I've seen that, but this year it has really come out. For me, as an older guy, it's great to be part of it - to see a team get that sort of character. It's going to be exciting to see where it is going to go."

Wales and England beware: the Grand Slam is on.