Awesome All Blacks prove untouchable

New Zealand continued their victory march through the home nations with an emphatic 45-7 demolition of Ireland which sounded an ominous warning for the rest of world rugby.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry made an unprecedented 15 changes to the side which crushed Wales 41-3 but there was no break in momentum as the Tri-Nations champions ran in five tries at Lansdowne Road.

The depth of talent available to Henry will concern his rivals with the next World Cup just two years away and does not bode well for England, who are the next assignment on New Zealand's grand slam hit-list at Twickenham next Saturday.

Wingers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Doug Howlett - two players hoping to force their way back into Henry's first-choice 22 - led the charge with a brace and Piri Weepu also crossed, while the near-faultless boot of Nick Evans did the rest.

New Zealand have averaged 38.88 points a match this year and they surpassed that prolific scoring rate against Ireland, whose record against the All Blacks now reads 17 defeats and one draw.

Apart from a rousing opening, Ireland never looked capable of halting the tourists' Grand Slam bid and were often the architects of their own downfall thanks to the number of first-half errors they made.

They went close to breaching a highly impressive New Zealand defence on a number of occasions before finally breaking through with a try from prop Marcus Horan three minutes into injury time.

Around 7,000 fans were denied access to the match following a small fire in the North Terrace last night which had forced the closure of the section.

The ground was brought to its feet with just two minutes on the clock when a long pass from Ronan O'Gara, combined with suspect positioning from All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu, allowed Geordan Murphy to burst into space.

The Leicester full-back fed Tommy Bowe but the rookie international, winning his fourth cap, cut inside when he should have returned the ball to Murphy who had drifted into space on the right.

Ireland continued to enjoy plenty of possession but were let down by poor decision-making, Gordon D'Arcy going alone when he should have used the men on his shoulder and Shane Horgan passing to Shane Byrne when half a gap had appeared before him.

But as they have done so many times before, New Zealand soaked up the pressure and hit back with a well-worked 10th-minute try against the run of play - although they were assisted by some sloppy home defending.

Number eight Mose Tuiali'i broke from the back of a scrum in front of the posts and fed the unmarked Sivivatu who moved had off his wing and into midfield where he found his dash to the line unimpeded with Evans converting.

The All Blacks would have extended their lead had debutant lock Jason Eaton passed immediately to McCaw instead of trying to burst through.

They broke through in the 21st minute when a switch with Evans sent skipper McCaw screaming into space and the openside supplied the scoring pass to Piri Weepu.

New Zealand were moving through the gears ominously and Ireland were not helping themselves with D'Arcy's loose pass turning over possession and initiating a fresh All Black assault.

Munster scrum-half Peter Stringer made a try-saving tackle on McCaw in a rare bright spot for the home side who were making too many unforced errors.

Evans kept the scoreboard ticking over with two penalties but Ireland burst into action in the 36th minute when number eight Denis Leamy crashed into space, setting up a magnificent platform.

Forwards Malcolm O'Kelly and Johnny O'Connor nearly forced their way through but New Zealand were saved by some brave defending, eventually conceding a penalty which Ireland declined to kick and the danger passed.

However, the All Blacks broke away shortly after, Weepu ghosting behind the Ireland defence and sending Sivivatu over for the tourists' third try. Evans landed the conversion.

Evans booted two more penalties before Weepu had to scramble back to deal with a dangerous kick and chase from the powerful Shane Horgan who was threatening to get Ireland off the mark.

Controversy reigned in the 52nd minute when Nonu performed a spear-tackle on D'Arcy, bringing back memories of New Zealand skipper Tana Umaga's infamous challenge on Brian O'Driscoll in the first Test of the Lions tour.

The incident resulted in a penalty for Ireland and D'Arcy was able to get up after some brief treatment, but there was no respite for his side with Howlett having a try correctly disallowed by the television match official.

Nonu also had one disallowed in the 62nd minute but the irrepressible All Blacks could not be halted for long with Howlett sprinting in after a slick backs move straight from lineout ball.

Evans converted but Ireland replied with a flourish, with Donncha O'Callaghan held up over the line and Murphy knocking on when all he had to do was touch down.

The All Blacks were not finished, however, as Howlett completed his brace on the stroke of half-time and Evans improved the try before Horan claimed Ireland's late consolation try with David Humphreys converting.

Afterwards New Zealand captain Richie McCaw paid tribute to the Irish effort and felt that the final score did not reflect the state of play on the pitch.

He said: "It wasn't easy out there. It was a tough battle and there was a lot of passion from both teams."

Irish manager Eddie O'Sullivan was disappointed that his side did not take advantage of any of the opportunities that were shown to them.

He said: "We tried hard and at times we had them under pressure but didn't punish them. They dominated possession and kept running at us."

O'Sullivan also demanded a crackdown on spear-tackling following the controversial challenge on D'Arcy.

"That sort of tackle is not something you want to see in the game, let's not fool around.

"Gordon was turned upside down and it's not safe to do that to anybody," he said.

Teams:
Ireland XV: M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Saracens), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan, (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), S Easterby (Llanelli, captain), J O'Connor (Wasps), D Leamy (Munster), P Stringer (Munster), R O'Gara (Munster), A Horgan (Munster), S Horgan (Leinster), G D'Arcy (Leinster), T Bowe (Ulster), G Murphy (Leicester).
Replacements: R. Best, S. Best, McCullough, N. Best, Campbell,
Humphreys, Dempsey.

New Zealand XV: MacDonald, Howlett, Nonu, Mauger, Sivivatu, Evans, Weepu, Woodcock, Mealamu, Afoa, Eaton, Williams, Lauaki, McCaw, Tuiali'i.
Replacements: Hore, Taumoepeau, Hayman, Jack, So'oialo, Cowan, Muliaina.

Referee: J Kaplan (South Africa)