"Well off the mark...scrums weren't a platform...too many mistakes...defence passive".

They were just some of the problems Keith Wood and Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley picked up on from Ireland's defeat to Australia last Saturday.

The chastening 32 - 15 defeat at the Aviva makes this weekend's clash against the All Blacks even more daunting.

But what can Ireland do to improve the team's performance and give New Zealand a real run for their money?

"I think hope comes from the fact that these are international sportsmen who have the pride in their jerseys," said Wood on Wednesday Night Rugby.

"The underdog can win on occasion. The likelihood of it happening is low. It has never happened in the past. I played against the All Blacks four times and lost four times. And I hate that fact. On two of those occasions, we got into good positions to win. I firmly believed we could win and you have to get your head to say that if you're there with 20 minutes to go, that you can hold out. But you need to get into that position first.

Luke Romano and Kieran Read ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

"It's like an old cliché, you have to break the game down. By every statistic and betting, we'll lose at the weekend. But you have to hold out, click and get your intensity to the right point. [New Zealand] have a big element for this full year unbeaten so it's a different sort of pressure for them. They had it this time last year and it didn't work for them."

But Thornley believes that New Zealand are entering another plain of existence and playing an "even more potent brand of rugby" than the cycles prior to the last World Cup.

And he pointed out that the regeneration of this current Ireland squad is not happening and the loss of Jonny Sexton for this weekend's clash is likely to be detrimental.

But he believes fear of another heavy loss could motivate Ireland. 

"Fear can be a huge spur. A week after an embarrassing defeat at home, a prospect of a defeat to a team that beat you 60 - 0 the last time, I would imagine there would be plenty of fear there. I think that will inspire players to dig deeper.

"I can't imagine Jamie Heaslip, for example, producing as anonymous a game two weeks in a row. We know that Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Cian Heal and Paul O'Connell have that warrior spirit. It could be that Conor Murray comes in to add more physicality around the fringes. You would like Jonny Sexton to be there. That's the biggest, single caveat for this. Sexton went off at half-time last week and after 32 minutes against England [in the Six Nations] and Ireland lost on both occasions. In the intervening three games without him against frontline opposition, Ireland have failed to win. I think he is Ireland's most important player."

Listen to the full chat via the Wednesday Night Rugby podcast or download on iTunes.

Main image ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan