From the time fly-half David Humphreys scored their first try just three minutes into the match at the Alpine Energy Stadium to their ninth touchdown in the dying minutes, the Irish were terrifically impressive.

Had Humphreys enjoyed a better night with his goal-kicking, the margin of victory would have been even greater.

Brian O’Driscoll ran in a hat-trick of tries for the tourists and put in an outstanding midfield display, while other touch-downs came from David Humphreys, Justin Bishop, Girvan Dempsey, Mal Deane, Anthony Foley and Geordan Murphy.

The forwards drove mercilessly at the set-pieces, won their own lineout ball and stole plenty of the opposition’s, and their support of the ball carrier was top class.

The backs complimented the pack perfectly with the midfield pairing of Mal Deane and O’Driscoll especially lethal.

Not far behind was the inside combination of Guy Easterby and Humphreys who cleared everything calmly when on defence and gave their outsides plenty of opportunity when on attack.

O’Driscoll’s showing enhanced his reputation - Kiwi fans having enjoyed his Lions tour of Australia last year - and Deane was strong and solid in everything he did.

Coach Eddie O’Sullivan could hardly have asked for a better start to the tour, and the All Blacks may require a rethink in policy during the week ahead of next Saturday’s Test.

Number eight Anthony Foley suggested that the start was beyond expectations.

‘‘We’re delighted with the nine tries,’’ Foley said.

‘‘Better though was that we kept the divisional side try-less. That’s a good start for us and the tries show our attacking style should continue.

‘‘All the bench got a run and that’s what we wanted. The cobwebs have been blown out and we can now concentrate on the build-up to the Test in Dunedin next week.’’