Cool Kiwi heads kept Ireland at bay in gladiatorial affair

As Ireland mounted wave after wave of attack in a desperate last-gasp bid to wrestle victory away from New Zealand in Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, the All Blacks insisted cool heads allowed them to prevail.

New Zealand edged top-ranked Ireland 28-24 in a thrilling contest as their defence held firm, especially in the dying minutes as the Irish took the ball through 37 phases before the All Blacks ensured a place in Friday's semi-final against Argentina.

"I don't think we allowed ourselves to get rattled out there," said captain Sam Cane of Saturday's gladiatorial affair at the Stade de France.

"There was a real air of calmness. Even on the bus, when we got to (the) changing rooms, I was thinking, 'Hopefully, this is a good thing'. We know how we want to play; we know what we're about now and we were clear on what we needed to do."

Up in the coaching box, too, there was no sense of panic among the staff, Ian Foster insisted, as Ireland searched for a stoppage-time try that would hand them victory.

"I actually felt quite calm, to be honest, because I felt they were doing a sort of a cut and paste attack, doing the same sort of things. I thought we were really patient in how we defended it," said the Kiwi coach.

EFFICIENT

"But they're really efficient with it and it was hard to get in to try and move the ball. We were hunting and searching all the time, but they were good enough to keep us out. But we didn't lose patience and that's the pleasing part."

Both sides looked almost out on their feet as Ireland attempted all to break down the New Zealand wall, roared on by a frantic crowd, the majority clad in Irish green.

Foster said the All Blacks had worked on their defence extensively in anticipation of Saturday's clash.

"There are areas where we've got to get a little bit better but we're making some strides in that space. So I was delighted," he said. "Clearly you know that one mistake and the game can go the other way at that point, but under much pressure we held tough.

"It's a World Cup and we haven't had many games like this, you just got to roll your sleeves up and trust what you do," the coach added.