Ireland have not beaten New Zealand in 103 years of matches between the countries and the long wait must go on. A reshuffled All Black side did just enough in filthy conditions in a rain-lashed Wellington to deserve victory but the home team were never remotely comfortable and only just squeezed through courtesy of a converted 63rd-minute try from Ma'a Nonu and three penalties from the boot of Dan Carter.

The Irish will consider this a real opportunity lost. Approaching the final quarter they were still level at 11-11 and, under the caretaker management of Michael Bradley, frequently made the All Blacks look extremely mortal. A penalty reversal against prop Marcus Horan for a swinging arm - which failed to do any physical damage but cost a crucial three points - proved a key turning point, as was Nonu's slithering try shortly afterwards following a break by Carter and an offload by replacement prop John Schwalger.

Ireland were left to rue their failure to score more points in the first half with the elements behind them. Rather than level at 8-8 they should have been ahead, even taking into account the slippery ball and gusty wind. Tommy Bowe nearly scored in the left corner early on and the All Blacks often appeared desperately rusty in their first Test since the World Cup last October. Hands in the ruck enabled Ronan O'Gara to kick a ninth-minute penalty and it required a sharp midfield break past Brian O'Driscoll by Conrad Smith and a sliding dive into the corner from Sitiveni Sivivatu to establish the home side on the scoreboard. As Paul O'Connell had originally stolen the preceding lineout only for Andrew Hore to nick the ball back in the ensuing ruck, it was a doubly frustrating setback for the Irish.

The days of automatic All Black supremacy, however, have gone for the moment. Not everyone in New Zealand thought it was a great idea to reappoint Graham Henry as head coach and the exodus of leading players to the northern hemisphere has also failed to enthuse the Kiwi public. There were several thousand empty seats in the 'Cake Tin' and, weather notwithstanding, the World Cup hangover appears to be taking time to dissipate.

Irish rugby, in contrast, has a renewed spring in its step. Munster's Heineken Cup triumph was always likely to provide a springboard to a committed pack effort but the Leinster full-back Rob Kearney is an increasingly impressive presence at this level and his provincial team-mate Jamie Heaslip did not look out of place as the sole non-Munster forward. When New Zealand, not for the first time, made a botch of a restart it took some fine home defence to deny Denis Leamy and Heaslip from close range but the pressure soon told, space appearing on the right for Ulster's Paddy Wallace to dart over and put Ireland 8-5 ahead with 20 minutes gone.

When Carter's restart drop-kick sailed straight out on the full, it seemed conceivable the All Blacks might unravel, particularly with tight-head prop John Afoa limping off seven minutes before the break. Instead a Carter penalty restored parity at 8-8 and the third quarter proved a struggle for both teams in increasingly testing conditions. A penalty apiece for O'Gara and Carter maintained the nip-and-tuck theme and for a long time the nearest either side came to breaking the deadlock was a kick ahead which caused Kearney momentary alarm on his own line, but ultimately rolled dead. Maybe if a touch judge had not spotted Horan's swipe at Schwalger it might have been different but the even ordinary All Black sides rarely give their opponents a second chance.

Ireland: R Kearney, S Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll (cpt), P Wallace, T Bowe, R O'Gara, E Reddan, J Heaslip, D Wallace, D Leamy, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, J Hayes, J Flannery, M Horan.
Replacements: G Dempsey, G Murphy, P Stringer, S Jennings, M O'Driscoll, T Buckley, R Best.

New Zealand: M Muliaina, A Tuitavake, C Smith, M Nonu, S Sivivatu, D Carter, A Ellis, J Kaino, R McCaw (cpt), R So'oialo, A Williams, B Thorn, J Afoa, A Hore, N Tialata.
Replacements: K Mealamu, J Schwalger, A Boric, A Thomson, J Cowan, S Donald, L MacDonald.

Referee: Chris White (England)