The Irish Independent's Hugh Farrelly assesses a tour on which he incurred Kiwi wrath and watched Ireland lose all three games, but saw promising signs.
"Spirit: The intangible quality that shone through strongly on this trip. It may seem like a straw-clutching exercise to point to good morale and camaraderie when all three matches were lost but, given what transpired in New Plymouth, the Maori and Australia games would have been a lot worse without it.
"...New Plymouth: Nothing to do with the scenery, warmth of welcome or vitriolic response to the piece in these pages questioning the dubious levels of diversion on a wet Thursday night. Rather, it is in terms of facilities for fans that you would question New Plymouth's capabilities of being a proper World Cup venue. Accommodation is relatively sparse and a three-hour wait for a taxi on match night is unacceptable. They have a year to sort it out."
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