Ireland suffered a first home defeat in 20 games as New Zealand made little of their underdog status to record a 23-13 win in Dublin.
It was an Irish performance riddled with errors and, save for a brief period after the break, the hosts were distinctly second-best in a first meeting since last year's World Cup quarter-final.
The All Blacks played the conditions and the referee better and out-half Damian McKenzie kicked six penalties before Will Jordan continued his immaculate scoring record against Ireland with a 69th-minute try.
Jack Crowley’s two-first half penalties had Ireland in touch but following Josh van der Flier’s converted try in the 43rd minute, Andy Farrell’s side did not score again.
The defeat brought an end to Ireland’s impressive home run, and means the sides have now shared five wins each from their last 10 meetings.
The opening 40 minutes couldn't really be described as a slow burner, it was more of a case of a flicker here and there.
And it was a pity because a pre-match light show, passionate anthems and the Irish response to the Haka, had the crowd up for it.
But by the time the clock hit five minutes and 30 seconds, almost four minutes had been spent waiting for the packs to complete two scrums.
There were 11 penalties, two free kicks, six scrums, eight lineouts and a TMO check to further break up any semblance of rhythm from either side in the first half.
Two of the penalties came from obstructing the chaser, Jordie Barrett and Jamison Gibson-Park both slow to get to grips with the new law aimed at stopping the receiver's escort and promoting aerial challenges.
Ireland did have the look of a team on their first outing of the season, while New Zealand, despite two wins under their belts in the last two weeks, also appeared rusty.
Barrett's lazy run when Gibson-Park sent up an up and under led to the first score, with Crowley having an easy penalty in the eighth minute.
That was a lead that only lasted two minutes when Finlay Bealham, in for injured prop Tadhg Furlong, was too slow to roll away after Cortez Ratima made a midfield break, and McKenzie (above) slotted over the subsequent penalty.
The out-half was central to a couple of New Zealand forays into the Irish 22 but Hugo Keenan stopped Mark Tele'a, and Tadhg Beirne and Van der Flier snuffed out the danger.
There were loud cheers for a couple of big hits on Rieko Ioane, the centre who was mentioned unfavourably in Johnny Sexton's recent autobiography, including one from Garry Ringrose, but two lost lineouts and a free kick against Gibson-Park for being too slow to put the ball in at a scrum had the crowd groaning.
The visitors soon took the lead when a no-arms tackle was penalised inside the 22.
Ireland, with Gibson-Park buzzing around, worked their way into the 22 when Sam Cane went offside; Bundee Aki barged into contact, referee Nic Berry missed Ratima playing the ball off his feet and New Zealand escaped and extended their lead.
This time Beirne failed to release the ball-carrier and McKenzie, who was replacing the injured Beauden Barrett, added a third penalty.
The game was drifting along and the crowd were drifting out to the bars but Crowley reduced the deficit to three when Barrett was penalised for a high tackle on Ringrose (below) in the last minute of the half.
A TMO check resulted in the Leinster-bound centre spending 10 minutes in the bin with the review resulting in no upgrade to the yellow.
But the crowd had something to really cheer about after the restart.
Although Ireland lost possession off a maul, Cane was ploughed back over his own line by Andrew Porter and Aki for a five-metre scrum.
Caelan Doris, James Ryan and Beirne all went close but Van der Flier (below) found the white line with Crowley's conversion giving the Six Nations champions a 13-9 lead.
The hosts looked ready to take advantage of the 14 men but James Lowe, after an excellent clearing kick, and a superb hit by Gibson-Park on Jordan, gave up a penalty close to the New Zealand line.
The World Cup finalists retook the lead through two long-range McKenzie penalties, neither of which they had to work particularly hard for - Joe McCarthy playing Ratima at the ruck and the referee penalising Bealham at the scrum.
Tom O'Toole was among four replacements in the 58th minute but he was off a few moments later after getting a bang to the head while making a tackle.
The ball, after a light drizzle all evening, was greasy and a couple of Irish fumbles will have been hugely frustrating for the coaches.
Iain Henderson, who had replaced McCarthy, was the next green shirt to infringe at the breakdown, and Chiefs out-half McKenzie pushed their lead out to five points.
The mistakes continued, Ciarán Frawley (above) and Mack Hansen couldn't get to grips with the ball and New Zealand struck for their try with 11 minutes left.
Barrett burst through the middle and had support with the ball moved quickly to Tele'a on the wing.
He was stopped by Keenan close to the line but the defence had been sucked in and there was no one to challenge Jordan (below) - who has scored tries in each of his five games against Ireland - when the play switched quickly to the opposite wing.
McKenzie missed the extras but Ireland had to chase down a 10-point lead with 10 minutes to play.
A stunning Lowe 50:22 gave the hosts hope.
Aki and Rob Herring carried hard, but Ardie Savea got over the replacement hooker to win a jackal penalty under the posts.
Time was running out and Ireland had to go from deep, Frawley tried a chip over the top but Hansen couldn't take it in and the Kiwis in the sold-out crowd found their voice.
Scorers
Ireland: Try - Josh van der Flier
Penalties: Jack Crowley (2)
Conversion: Jack Crowley
New Zealand: Try - Will Jordan
Penalties: Damian McKenzie (6)
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Tom O'Toole, Iain Henderson, Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray, Ciarán Frawley, Jamie Osborne.
New Zealand: Will Jordan; Mark Tele'a, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima; Tamatai Willians, Asafo Aumua, Tyrel Lomax; Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaa'i; Wallace Sititi, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea.
Replacements: George Bell, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Pasilio Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown, Stephen Perofeta.
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
