New Irish coach Declan Kidney has told his squad not to get carried away with their thrashing of Canada as they knuckle down to the task of trying to beat the All Blacks for the first time this weekend.
Kidney opened his era in charge of the men in green with a comprehensive 55-0 thrashing of Canada in cold and difficult conditions at Thomond Park in Limerick as the international season swung into action in Europe.
There were some impressive moments as the Irish ran in eight tries in a predictable blitz of the hapless Canadians coached by former All Black Kieran Crowley.
But Kidney was trying to keep a lid on emotions as they had also watched a largely second-string All Blacks beat Scotland 32-6 on the same day.
Kidney knows the All Blacks will field a much stronger side at Croke Park this Sunday (NZ time) and that the Irish effort will need to be far more sustained than it was against Canada.
"We played well in the first half, the third quarter dropped off quite a bit when we didn't have the same intensity but we were ruthless in the final quarter," Kidney said.
"The subs brought a dynamic back to it and we finished it out.
"We can add so much to our game. But it is a bit early and we will not read too much into the scoreline.
"It was a good day's work but we will not get carried away. There are things we need to look at for next week," said the man who oversaw Munster's Heineken Cup triumph before he decided to take on the top job in the Irish game.
Highly regarded, he faces a huge test next weekend with Ireland still searching for a historic win over an All Blacks team desperate to snare another Grand Slam.
Kidney has had to use his limited time wisely, balancing the old with the new against an ordinary Canadian outfit.
Kidney fielded some of his brighter prospects in this match, seeing it as a chance to blood some talent, including fullback Keith Earl who scored with his first touch of the ball.
"He is another addition to what is becoming a quite competitive backline," said Kidney.
"A lot of the lads staked their claim to play against New Zealand and a lot of the younger lads will benefit from the experience. At least the size of the panel is getting bigger."
The other youngster to stand out was Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris who won the man of the match award against Canada.
Ferris has size and pace and used them well on both defence and attack to punish the tourists.
Kidney brought on some wise old heads to see out the match and gave them some invaluable game time ahead of the clash with New Zealand.
Captain Brian O'Driscoll knows how tough it is against the All Blacks and he gave guarded optimism about the start made under Kidney.
"When your wingers are scoring it's a good thing. From an international point of view it's good to start proceedings and the new regime so let's look onwards and upwards."
Kidney now has to decide how he goes about choosing his side to face the All Blacks. Expect a couple of these new faces but it would surprise if he didn't fall back on the experience of his former Munster charges up front and hope that Ireland can live off the passion that will come from what promises to be a massive crowd at the famous ground.
The All Blacks are in the same mindset as they gave many of their younger players a decent run in asking them to start the latest Slam attempt. They managed that to a degree with a stuttering victory that included four tries. Their performance was punctuated by some blistering attack but also a lack of possession that forced them into dogged defence for long periods at Murrayfield.
Graham Henry will bring out most of his big guns now, realising that the intensity levels will rise against the Irish and progressively get higher as the tour moves on. Wales and England follow.
The All Blacks had another difficult day of travel.
They were late into Dublin. They flew from Edinburgh to London and then struck a delay with their flight into Ireland, not arriving until almost 9pm local time.
Dublin was being buffeted by freezing winds.
Fullback Mils Muliaina was with the squad, joining them in London after being given two weeks off to celebrate the birth of his first child.
He has been keeping himself fit and declared himself ready for action if required.
That looks certain although he will be put through a rigorous week of training.
The All Blacks confirmed the loss of halfback Andy Ellis to a rib injury with young Wellington No 9 Alby Mathewson flying over to join the side.
He will be used as cover and will likely play a part in next week's midweek clash with Munster in Limerick.
Fullback/utility Isaia Toeava was recovering well from the shoulder stinger that forced him out of the win over the Scots at halftime.
Other than a few bumps and bruises the All Blacks were in good shape and their leading players are itching to get back into action.
The All Blacks were swinging into training on Monday morning (local time).
It's an interesting week with the All Blacks as they continue to juggle their stock.
They name their side to play Ireland early on Wednesday morning (NZ time) and then revel their team to play Munster at midnight on Thursday (NZ time).
