Ireland yet to hit their peak, and have France to thank

In the week between Ireland's first and second ever wins against the All Blacks in New Zealand, a lot of questions were asked of Ireland.

Could they back it up against 15 All Blacks rather than 14? Could they run a lineout when Sam Whitelock is calling the shots? Could they stem the flow if and when New Zealand drew blood? Could they finally be clinical in the 22?

For pretty much every question that was asked of them last week, and in the three weeks previous, they replied with a resounding "Yes".

As always happens in the wake of a big win, the champagne has barely been corked before further questions are asked about where it ranks. It's a worthless answer when you don't know what the legacy is.

A more worthwhile ranking is to figure out where Saturday's 32-22 series clincher sits among the five (yes, five) wins against the All Blacks in recent years. In purely rugby terms, it's hard to argue against it being the most impressive.

With hindsight, we would admit the All Blacks weren't on the same pitch as Ireland in 2016, both mentally or physically, and the job they did in the return in Dublin a fortnight later showed it.

In 2018 Ireland beat them into submission. By far the best team, but the rugby was more methodical than mesmerising.

Last year, Ireland ran the All Blacks off the pitch. It was rock and roll rugby, the kind of no team could live with, but while Ireland dominated the game their wastefulness in the 22 could have haunted them on another day. Last week's win in Dunedin was a similar story.

Saturday's win in Wellington was the complete package. Given Ireland had levelled the series a week earlier, and there was a cloud of pressure hanging over Ian Foster, there can be no suggestion the hosts weren't as dialed in as