DIFFERENT PLACE, different opponents, but same outcome - and pretty much the same story. A couple of modest steps forward in some respects, a step or two backwards in others. So far, the developmental process rests somewhere between piecemeal and stagnant.

Where the Irish were beaten by 10 tries to one in the tour opener by the pick of New Zealand's provincial second division, at a rain soaked North Harbour four nights later, they were overwhelmed by a dozen tries to three.

Thus, while the Irish were moderately more creative, and were even able to break the monotony in the second period with a sustained two try revival of their own, they were ultimately even more porous. The squad's examination of the first game revealed 67 missed `first up' tackles, though the final tally on this one may be higher.

The cumulative effect was to leave the Academy's bright young things exchanging high fives and Brian Ashton in a state of high dudgeon.

While in the cold light of day his mood may temper on the Journey to Rotarua for Thursday's meeting with Bay of Plenty, it was clear he had issued all sorts of dire warnings to the underdevelops on this tour. The Irish coach is already running out of patience.

You could sense a serious effort at improvement. The tackle count was high in the opening quarter and the midfield defence was not nearly so offkey, although after a bright start and one crunching tackle which kick started a mini second half revival, Kevin Maggs wilted.

Out wide, Niall Woods' poor evening began with the concession of a fifth minute try to the Academy full back from a chip ahead by Blair Feeney which he seemed to have covered. Though he redeemed himself with a quick witted flapped pass inside for Gabriel Fulcher's equalising try, thereafter, Woods' opposite number, Jeff Wilson, romped in for five tries and beat Woods on the outside from a standing start to set up another.

Marcus Dillon suffered the ignominy of being tactically replaced by a centre, Michael Lynch, and Brian O'Meara had the misfortune of being up against a prospective All Black scrum half in Mark Robinson - whose sniping breaks and general inventiveness were a thorn in the Irish side.

However, the blame for a more porous fringe defence must be shared. Missing tackles early on, Kieron Dawson couldn't seem to get to the pitch of the game, and he may not relish the video tackle count even though his night's work was cut short after barely half an hour.

David Wallace did not plug the holes immediately, though eventually his wing forward alliance with David Erskine developed a certain balance. Wallace looks the one probable success story so far.

Elsewhere, Malcolm O'Kelly and Fulcher had fine games, winning 10 of Ireland's dozen line outs, putting themselves about and taking ball on. Ditto Rob Henderson in midfield, who took ball on, retained it in the tackle and invariably set it up. He burst a gut, while Conor O'Shea injected some pace and life from fullback, scoring the pick of lreland's three tries.

All of which probably makes it sound a helluva lot better than it was. Overall, in mitigation, it's doubtful whether the vast bulk of this team have encountered rugby like this, where the opposition just keep coming in tidal waves. Aside from poor restarts, Richard Governey kicked wastefully, but did some things creatively and has the football brain to learn from this.

To put things in their proper perspective, this Academy team were what you'd expect; littered with the cream of New Zealand's under 22 talent, but without Northland's hardened cohesiveness. The tries came more fit fully, and more often from individualism than teamwork. The damage was more one on one, which highlighted individual errors and missed tackles for the visitors.

Familiarity with these sort of crushing defeats is, for Ashton, quickly breeding nothing but contempt. Red faced and almost shaking with anger, the Irish coach - though a harsh critic - has never looked so annoyed after a defeat.

"I'm bloody furious. We showed tonight a far more constructive game and we played much better with the ball in the hand than we did on Thursday night. Yet we had these incredibly stupid moments when we just gave the ball away. The number of times we kicked the ball away was quite phenomenal."

Ashton repeatedly referred to the wasteful use of restarts - and sadly the Irish had more than their share of them. None of Governey's 13 restarts were reclaimed, primarily because virtually all of them were directed to the Academy pack just outside the 11, "the one area we said we wouldn't kick to."

That it was also contrary to his halftime reminder compounded Ashton's frustration, but this was nothing compared to his anger over the missed tackles.

This tour is rapidly sorting out the men from the boys, or in Ashton's words: "what we have identified is that we're carrying some bloody passengers on tour. Their job is to make sure they tackle or I'm afraid it's going to be a fairly short tour for them." Or a long one.

Maintaining that the defensive organisation was much improved, Ashton cited individual failings for the porousness of this display. "We've got to be brutal about it and say at the end of the day thanks very much, but no thanks. No second chance at this level.

"I'm not talking about all the players. I'm talking about half the players. They've got a massive amount of redeeming to do. I'm not from a rugby culture where you go out on the field and miss bloody tackles. I come from rugby league, where if you don't tackle right, there's the exit door. Take your boots and bugger off play another game.

"It just leaves me totally cold, players who won't tackle at this level. You can't carry these around like your spare baggage.

Pat Whelan's post match analysis echoed Ashton's. "We didn't tackle again. There are some guys who are trying exceptionally hard and covering up for other guys who aren't tackling at all, and the second thing is if you kick the ball to them they'll score. Six of their tries came from us doing that."

Furthering the impression that judgment day may have arrived for some of this squad, Whelan added: "We now have a fair idea of who's not going to tackle out here. We've made it crystal clear to them. If the situation arises where we have 15 guys who are tackling, then they're the guys who'll go on the pitch."

It is clear then that the parameters for selection henceforth on this tour may well have changed. A harsher reassessment now seems inevitable, the result, perhaps, being not so much a first XV alternating with a midweek XV as a near first choice XV playing continuously.

As if to rub salt in the wound, the Academy's coach Ross Cooper claimed: "We're disappointed that it rained because we wanted to play an open and expansive game - Academy rugby and All Blacks' rugby."

Nor was he yanking Irish chains, merely commenting matter of factly, when adding: "We lost our way with the accuracy so we were a little bit disappointed. We had a couple of flat patches but overall we're very pleased."

If the truth be told, the Academy were probably a little bit disappointed that the Irish applied so little pressure on them. Catching the increasingly sympathetic mood toward the tourists, Cooper added: "I think Ireland are struggling to come to terms with the pace of the game in the southern hemisphere."

Conor O'Shea, Irish captain for the night, maintained fitness was not the main factor. Allowing for the home players' greater strength in contact situations, O'Shea still lamented the turnovers in contact and the missed tackles. That rankled most of all.

"It's just not good enough and we know it's not good enough. Perhaps it's easy to stand and talk about what we should be doing. We know what we should lie doing. It's up to us to go out and do it. We're bloody annoyed with ourselves and the management have every right to be annoyed with us.