Ireland's interim head coach Michael Bradley pointed to Dan Carter's break which led to Ma'a Nonu second half try as 'a moment of genius' and a crucial moment in Ireland's downfall at the Westpac Stadium on Saturday. 

The interim head coach, said there was 'huge disappointment' in the Irish dressing room after Saturday's 21-11 defeat to the All Blacks

The All Blacks foraged into a 21-11 lead in the 64th-minute when Ma'a Nonu followed up on Dan Carter's midfield break and slid over the line for what turned out to be the match-winning try.

Played in rain-soaked conditions, Ireland viewed this Wellington encounter as a particularly good chance to end their losing run against the Kiwis, with Graham Henry's squad currently going through a transitional phase.

However, with the likes of Richie McCaw, Carter and Neemia Tialata to the fore, the home side pulled clear having trailed on three occasions.

Ireland had a couple of early try-scoring opportunities from recently departed Ulster man, Tommy Bowe but the only Irish try came from Ulster man Paddy Wallace, who crossed to the right of the posts in the 20th-minute.  Ulster captain Rory Best was also called up in the 53rd min.

Speaking about that strong start, Ireland's interim head coach Michael Bradley said: "I thought we stayed in the game and in the first couple of minutes we possibly would have been over the line twice but for the bounce of the ball, and that maybe would have been enough to carry us for the entire match on the basis of the conditions.  But, to their credit, the All Blacks stuck at it as well, and they were patient and it probably took one moment of genius to create the critical line break in the second half.  It was a difficult position (21-11 down) to come back from with the conditions and the quality of the opposition with 15 or 20 minutes to go."

"We have a very disappointed dressing room because we thought we had a really good chance to beat New Zealand, and we haven't beaten New Zealand yet as a country, so it remains a target for us and we move forward from that" remarked Bradley.

While New Zealand gradually began to dominate possession in the second half, Ireland had a good amount of territory but scoring chances were few and far between during the second 40 minutes and Bradley admitted his side gave away some costly penalties:

"It was frustrating watching from the sideline, because we conceded three or four penalties in the early part of the third quarter which allowed New Zealand out of situations where we possibly would have been able to create opportunities to score - be they kicking (opportunities) or running in another try.  I think there were three or four penalties in that critical period when we released the pressure too easily. But outside of that I thought we did as well as one could expect."

Of course, the severe match conditions which had Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll shivering throughout a post-match interview were a major talking point.

Bradley added: "It was a brutal game out there in terms of the conditions, which was a pity.
"It was a massive effort put in by everybody. Probably the hardest position to play out there was on the wing because it was so cold and you were running up and down getting no ball.  We'll pick ourselves up. There are very good players inside (in the dressing room) who have represented Ireland fantastically over the years. We've a big challenge next week against Australia in Melbourne."

NEW ZEALAND: Mils Muliaina; Anthony Tuitavake, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu; Dan Carter, Andy Ellis; Neemia Tialata, Andrew Hore, John Afoa, Brad Thorn, Ali Williams, Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw (capt), Jerome Kaino.

Replacements used: John Schwalger for Afoa (35 mins), Adam Thomson for So'oialo (43-48, blood sub), Leon MacDonald for Tuitavake (50), Keven Mealamu for Hore (55), Adam Thomson for Kaino (76). Not used: Anthony Boric, Jimmy Cowan, Stephen Donald.

IRELAND: Rob Kearney; Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll (capt), Paddy Wallace, Tommy Bowe; Ronan O'Gara, Eoin Reddan; Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, Denis Leamy, David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements used: Rory Best for Flannery (53 mins), Tony Buckley for Horan (62), Peter Stringer for Reddan (71), Shane Jennings for Heaslip (72). Not used: Mick O'Driscoll, Geordan Murphy, Girvan Dempsey.

Referee: Chris White (England)