New Zealand 60 Ireland 0: Kearney left bowed by Ireland’s humiliation

The positives of the narrow 22-19 defeat in the second Test were buried by heavy defeats either side of that, 42-10 at Eden Park and Saturday’s 60-0 crushing in Hamilton.

They also finished third in the Six Nations earlier in the year, their only wins coming against Italy and Scotland, and Kearney admitted: “For us, as a national team, it probably hasn’t been that great a season for us.

“A couple of games could have gone our way; I look at Wales at home (21-23) and France away (17-17), and last week as well.

“All three of them went against us but that’s sport and we have to move on.”

Kearney must wish his season could have finished on May 21. On that day, just 48 hours after his Leinster side had won the Heineken Cup, the full-back captured the European Player of the Year award.

His performance in the narrow loss in Christchurch, like the rest of his team-mates, was endeavour and fight personified. However, he was decidedly outclassed by his opposite number Israel Dagg in Hamilton.

He conceded that the lack of Irish consistency and a significant rise in class and output from the All Blacks combined for a defeat that now ranks as his country’s worst.

Kearney said, “We probably lacked five per cent of the intensity of last week and New Zealand upped it by five per cent as well.

“That 10 per cent difference in this game, where margins are so small, will count for a lot and will have a big reflection on the scoreboard, as it did.”

Kearney admits his side’s failure to stop New Zealand’s offloads in the tackle left them doomed and Declan Kidney’s side were humiliated with Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Cane both scoring two tries as the All Blacks ran in a total of nine tries.