It's time to put a lid on Wellington's Cake Tin

If it's good enough for Melbourne and Cardiff, then it's compulsory for Wellington - the Cake Tin needs a retractable roof.

Wellington's weather is so reliable. Stick a test in the capital outdoors and bitter raindrops will fall on 32,137 heads.

On Saturday night the world saw a patchwork All Black team subdue an Irish outfit which should've felt at home in the cold, icy rain as the southerly swept in, right on kickoff, off the Kaikoura Ranges.

It was like the grand ole Athletic Park days, when rugby was rugby for the purist eskimo. But now there are emerald green grass carpets, not muddy wallows.

Those high in the stands and we in the hermetically-sealed press box were insulated from the alpine blasts. Not until we spied the Blacks hopping about like Fijian fire-walkers during a stoppage in play did we click that their toes were tickling.

None of us packed Allan Hewson pantyhose, but luckily Daniel Carter packed his black thermal. Daniel hoped his Toulon billionaire didn't watch his erratic first half, but the long sleeves revived him and his searing break to set up Ma'a Nonu's try showed why he is worth top franc.

When one of the Carter kicks went bung, out cried an English scribe: "He'll be a better player when he comes back from France, my son!"

While we have since luxuriated over the 21-11 win, such was the foul tempest it could easily have gone against the All Blacks for the first time in 103 years. At 8-all at halftime, an inordinate number of Kiwi journos filed out for nervous ones.

Putting aside the esteem with which they held World Cup quarterfinal coach Graham Henry, no one wanted them to lose to a Ireland mob which didn't even reach the quarterfinals.

Don't forget Ireland almost lost to Georgia at the World Cup and Namibia gave the pale greens a run for their money. Gone is the emerald green jersey too.

Henry and his entourage filed into the press conference bearing uneasy grins, probably the last place they wanted to be.

Someone asked Henry about the pressure he'd been under; Richie McCaw and Steve Hansen looked sideways, grinning knowingly, happy for Henry to take the heat.

"Was I under pressure was I?" he replied.

No, that will come should the Blacks fall to England.

English scribes, Fleet Streeters down from Auckland for the night, bored everyone by asking All Blacks players and coaches what they would have to do to beat England at Eden Park next Saturday night.

We could have told them: "More of the same".

Put black jerseys on our boys and give the enemy the cold steel up the guts, which the Munster-Leinster giants didn't enjoy. All of the Limey teams play the same way; kick for position and kick for goal.

At first sight it was rather a motley All Black team which took the field while Ronan O'Gara and his Irish brogues went out to win by taking pots shots at goal.

Their stand-in coach Michael Bradley: "It took one moment of genius to make the critical linebreak in the second half."

Nonsense: McCaw's skip pass from No.10 (is there nothing the Hakataramea lad can do?) sent Conrad Smith rocketing away to set up try No.1. Ireland's try came when ref Chris White issued a guessing scrum penalty on the All Blacks' line.

There were many transformations: Brad Thorn from rugby league to rugby to league to rugby as a test lock and lineout jumper; an all Hurricanes front row with Neemia Tialata the Samoan lion rampant; Rodney So'oialo transplanted to the blindside . . .

But is Andrew Ellis really a test halfback and is the Ashburton Romney, Adam Thomson, superior to Jerry Collins? And was Brian O'Driscoll on the field?

- © Fairfax NZ News