Outspoken pundit Matt Williams claims pre-match outside chatter has “infiltrated” the Ireland camp and affected their performance against the All Blacks.

Andy Farrell’s men were favorites going into this match as they sought revenge after losing in the quarter-finals of last year’s Rugby World Cup.

However, it was new zealand who came out on top again as they outscored the hosts 23-13 thanks to Will Jordan’s try and 18 points from the boot of Damian McKenzie.

Williams he felt the talk of this current All Blacks set-up was overblown and warned in advance of the threat Scott Robertson’s outfit posed.

Don’t lay the groundwork

“The general rugby community for this particular game had an air of entitlement about it; “Oh, New Zealand has lost its luster, it’s not who I am,” he said Virgin Media Sports.

“Coate, if you come out against New Zealand, you have to set your foundation. I don’t think at any point in the game Ireland established a foundation. They went out and played dry weather football on a wet night.

“This is a great Irish side and I’m a big supporter, so I’m not going to condemn them, but on this particular occasion, I don’t think they’ve gone out and laid that foundation that you have to. every time against big teams.

“That’s the physicality, they go into the turns, they play the first 20 and at no point did they do that. They were playing like they were 10 points ahead.”

Williams was then asked about the use of the word “fair” and whether it ultimately played a role in Ireland’s performance on Friday.

The former Leinster manager replied: “I don’t bet but I told my son to put 10 because it was crazy. I said to everyone, “What’s going on? I don’t see this?

“He always infiltrates the team. You try not to, but it always seeps in.”

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Irish great Rob Kearney, who was on the panel alongside Williams, didn’t necessarily agree, saying: “Right is a strong word, maybe overconfidence,” but the Aussie then explained his point further.

“You might be right and I might be wrong, I’m just amazed I had to defend New Zealand. An Australian defending New Zealanders, I don’t like it, but you have to respect them,” the 64-year-old said.

“They were seven players short of the team that beat us in the quarter-finals and I think everyone would have taken them a bit too easy.”

Horgan’s vision

Kearney’s former Ireland great Shane Horgan insisted it had nothing to do with the team’s attitude and everything to do with their inability to execute.

“At some point you have to be able to say that we are a top quality team. We just beat South Africa in South Africa,” said Horgan.

“We are playing at home, we should beat this opposition. It’s a legitimate thing to say we’re confident in this game.

“I don’t think there’s any disrespect and I don’t necessarily think there’s overconfidence, I just think they didn’t perform.

“If you don’t put in a performance, and there can be a number of reasons for that, you’re not going to beat New Zealand.”

READ MORE: Ireland v All Blacks: Winners and losers as Scott Robertson’s side show ‘hallmarks’ of ‘great’ New Zealand sides as ‘livid’ Andy Farrell braces for ‘brutal overhaul’