There was little surprise that the Ireland changing room was filled with a somber atmosphere following a Test match where they were thoroughly outplayed. Andy Farrell acknowledged that the silence and subdued mood perfectly captured the essence of a game that was far from the close contest anticipated. "I believed we prepared well and trained diligently, and we were enthusiastic about the match, but we didn't execute as planned, clearly, and the opposition played a significant role in that," Farrell remarked.

"It's an unusual feeling because we don't often experience this level of disappointment in our dressing room, but it is what it is. That's life. Congratulations to New Zealand, and we'll move forward. We must find solutions as quickly as possible because there's a formidable Argentina team that is currently playing excellent rugby. We need to regroup and get back in action, don't we?"

The captain, Caelan Doris, felt the team had made progress around the break, narrowing the gap at the end of the first half and taking the lead early in the second. "We were pleased with the start of the second half – that was the message at halftime, that we hadn't really made an impact," he said. "But we regained momentum in the second half, though our discipline allowed them to gain entry and possession. I felt confident at halftime, trusting our fitness and training. Defending against a team like that is undoubtedly exhausting."

Consequently, the penalty count continued to rise against Ireland. "It's not ideal to be desperate, chasing after mistakes whether they be penalties or dropped balls, and compounding those errors with further mistakes, thereby losing field position. We did this multiple times and need to address our mentality in this regard. We became too desperate, and as a result, our energy and accuracy were lacking."

The only blemish for New Zealand was the first-half incident involving their captain, Scott Barrett, and Joe McCarthy. "They play tough – they're an excellent team – a physical team with the ball, but it was just that one moment," Barrett explained. "I was getting up from a ruck, and from where I stood, Damian [McKenzie] was on the ground, and I think Joe tackled him, so... from my perspective, it was around his head. Whether it was or not, I'm not entirely sure, but I took exception to it at that moment. It appeared to be a shoulder charge on a grounded player who is our 10."

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