Their defeated faces always look the same.
Twenty-one times now the Irish have tried to beat the All Blacks and still their eyes are not smiling.
Captain Brian O'Driscoll, who was shivering violently when he was interviewed by television shortly after the loss to the All Blacks, lamented the moments of brilliance by first Dan Carter then Ma'a Nonu that created the vital try in the second half.
"In games like that, one line break is the difference," O'Driscoll said.
"We had them three points down and then they scored a try that killed the game off.
A 10-point lead with 15min to go in those conditions was pretty much unassailable.
"It's hugely disappointing to come so close again. We had a good 65min or so but we don't seem to be able to finish off.
"It's not often you get games with weather like that. You have to play to the conditions to the best of your ability but they were horrible conditions for a test match."
Caretaker coach Michael Bradley echoed his skipper's thoughts.
"I think we played well in the first half and stayed in the game. But the All Blacks were patient and took that one moment of genius," Bradley said.
"That made it difficult for us to come back given the conditions and the quality of the opposition.
"Our effort was fantastic. I think our tactics were fine.
The critical issue was the one line break the All Blacks made.
"It was a very, very close test and I think our players had the desire to win it. We had a good chance to beat New Zealand for the first time."
