New Zealand embark on the second half of their grand slam quest this week following a disjointed performance over Ireland.

The All Blacks lacked the precision which marks their game at its best during a 22-3 win at Croke Park on Saturday and flyhalf Daniel Carter had a forgettable game with two easy penalty misses and a charged-down kick.

Unfortunately for Ireland, Carter's opposite number Ronan O'Gara was equally off-colour and his erratic individual display typified the team's performance as a whole.

"We are pleased with the result," New Zealand coach Graham Henry told reporters. "The guys played with some tempo and they dominated things pretty well.

"But there was some frustration there. We had a number of opportunities that we didn't finish. A good result but some frustrations involved as well."

Henry fielded his best XV against Ireland after selecting a reserve side for the 32-6 win over Scotland the previous weekend.

The remainder of the squad will get a run against Munster tomorrow while Henry considers his options for next Saturday's test against Six Nations champions Wales.

Wales struggled for much of the game before beating Canada 34-13 on Friday night at the start of a dispiriting weekend for the home nations.

Scotland led world champions South Africa 10-0 at half-time on Saturday but, although the result was in doubt until the final minutes, they still lost 14-10.

The Springboks, who defeated Wales 20-15 in the opening weekend of the November internationals, take on England at Twickenham next Saturday in a replay of last year's World Cup final.

South Africa finished bottom in the Tri-Nations championship this year and, their defence apart, have not looked like world champions in Britain.

They do appear, though, to have fewer worries than England, who were outplayed 28-14 by Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.

Much was written during the build-up about England's superiority in the scrum against Australia in recent years. But instead the Wallabies more than held their own with hooker Stephen Moore giving an outstanding performance.