There is blood flowing from his fangs, mouth and face and it flows down onto his chest. He sheepishly tries to avoid all his mates as he sidles into the back of the cave. But the lads spot him and see the blood. They all crowd him and give out to him for not telling them where he had been and why he couldn't tell them where the feast was. So he tries to avoid them and is as coy as possible. Eventually the lads gang up on him and force him to tell them where the gig is at. So they all fly off out of the cave and land on the side of a cliff and he says to them, "do you see that field over there".

The boys say yep, and then he says, "do you see that big tree in the middle of the field".

The boys say yep, and he says, "well I f***ing didn't. . ."

I didn't see this performance coming either. And yet again, New Zealand ended up with a very bloody nose as they met an Ireland side which wasn't really in the mood for bending or yielding.

It was one of their best performances under O'Sullivan and it was a dreadful shame that they couldn't finish off a New Zealand side that was there for the taking.

You could say the reason why the result was so precipitous was because of the precipitation. If you cast your mind back to the first test in Wellington when the Lions played against New Zealand, that match was played in truly appaling conditions. Yet the skill levels displayed by the All Blacks that day were truly wondrous. I don't think they spilled the ball as they put the Lions away with ease.

Yet, the reason why they could not play with the same skill levels yesterday was because Ireland put them under serious pressure, something that Clive Woodward's Lions just were not able to do.

You might say that after their dominance in the last quarter of the first half, Ireland could have looked forward to cranking up the scoreboard and this was the only area which let them down. They only managed another three points in the second half. And given they had quality possession and spent a fair amount of the clock in New Zealand's half, you would have expected maybe a little more threat to New Zealand's line.

It didn't happen and that's why they lost.

If I can paraphrase Pliny the Elder, 'Ex novi Zealand semper aliquid novi' . . . out of New Zealand, always something new. The rugby world waits and watches for direction out of New Zealand.

They are the trendsetters and any new initiative in terms of playing the game normally comes from them.

But we learned something new from Ireland out of this series. Quite apart from the fact that they are a very competitive side. And so we have to readjust our thinking on this particular band of players. Over the course of the years, this side doesn't play catch up rugby particularly well. They like to play position, apply pressure, force mistakes and get points on the board. And then they decide whether to play or not.

They are never at their best when they're playing from behind. But if you look at last Saturday, and even yesterday's events, you will have noticed this side has the willingness, aptitude, bravery and intelligence to come back into the game purely of their own volition.

And when they were 17-0 down after 25 minutes, when New Zealand had marginal superiority, you reckoned that their mindset was already in the warm climes of Perth, preparing for the Australian test. But then you can never take people like Paul O'Connell for granted at any stage. And Ireland's best player yesterday once again stood up to the mark with a try which typified the type of steel that is in this Irish side which is given by its leaders.

On a dry day, you'll certainly have reckoned that New Zealand could have cranked up the scoreboard, but this was the day both sides were given and Ireland applied themselves, nowhere more so than in defence and their cluster units where number four and five, number seven and eight, and number 12 and 13 frustrated the hell out of New Zealand at the tackle zone. But Ireland did so much more than that.

It was a performance which was straight out of the streets. I don't advocate cheating, but I do espouse taking things to the limit.

That is a good thing. Bend the rules, begin to take liberties, do unto others but just do it first or be quicker to do it to them while holding your discipline and your integrity intact. The penalty count reflects this and Ireland put New Zealand under pressure in an intelligent and comprehensive way. Nowhere more so than at the line-out where yet again they hassled New Zealand into five turnovers.

They were forced to use Richie McCaw as their main agent out of touch, such was their indecision and lack of certainty in this area.

It is terrible that O'Gara, who had such a good game yesterday, once again was the undoing of his side. And here is the equation that Graham Steadman and Eddie O'Sullivan must decide on. Over the course of the two tests, O'Gara has been responsible for the concession of three tries which effectively is the winning and losing of the series. Harsh but true.

Yesterday, Luke McAlister in the predetermined period of time . . . the 70th minute . . .

scored the match-winning try. He dropped his shoulder and came up a fraction but he didn't need to because there was hardly any contact and he went in under the sticks without barely breaking the stride. O'Gara is susceptible to being bumped or handed off. So you have to make a policy decision here. Do you tell him to go hip high and try to take the man and stop him on the gain-line, possibly preventing an offload, or do you decide for players who are perhaps lacking in upper body strength just to go for the bootlaces, take him ankle low, concede the gain-line and possibly concede a turnover but be absolutely sure of the tackle? O'Gara is unfortunate in the sense that the comparative body shapes are miles apart. McAlister is a very powerful runner and very difficult to pull down.

But this is where the match was won and lost and somebody will have to shore up the number 10 channel.

Yet again, a great Irish performance. It didn't stop at 70 but this is the rub with this team, an enhanced reputation doesn't really cut it for them anymore.