Among the more perverse aspects of a sportswriter's trade is the filing of match reports before a game has finished. The theory is that the scoreline can always be tweaked and a few extra seconds helps the editing process. As Ireland inched towards an historic first win over New Zealand on a grey Sunday afternoon, leading 22-17 with 29 seconds remaining and in possession of the ball in the All Blacks' half, pressing the 'send' button seemed a reasonable call.

The real story, of course, was only just beginning. Ireland, ahead 19-0 after 18 minutes, were clinging on but they still had the ball and the All Blacks were defending on their own 10-metre line. What could possibly go wrong? "We were 60 metres away from our line and the way we'd defended for the rest of the game I'd have been confident of holding them out," said the Irish captain, Paul O'Connell, afterwards.

However, the instant the All Blacks were awarded a penalty for an Irish replacement forward going off his feet, everyone had the same collective premonition. People misunderstand what makes New Zealanders so good at rugby: it is not so much what they do as their relentless mastery of the basics under pressure.

Virtually every All Black player handled the ball during 11 compelling phases before the fly-half, Aaron Cruden, threw out a miss-pass in front of the replacement hooker, Dane Coles.

Some players would have contemplated the enormity of the moment – the chance to become the first All Black side in the professional era to end a calendar year with a 100% record – and panicked big time.

Coles just caught the ball at full stretch and offloaded deftly out of Sean O'Brien's tackle like a three-quarter, offering his lurking team-mate Ryan Crotty the chance to make a name for himself from two metres out.

One last twist remained, even after the bearded Crotty had touched down and the TMO had confirmed the score. The conversion, four metres from the touchline, was no gimme and Cruden's kick faded slightly to the right.

Momentarily it seemed the hosts had the consolation of a draw, only for the world's best referee, Nigel Owens, to spot that four home defenders had run out prematurely to try and charge Cruden down. The laws permitted a retaken kick and, sure enough, Cruden was given another shot. All of Ireland watched in mute horror as the fly-half's second effort flew as straight and true as any golden Olympian's arrow.

There will be Irish fans and players, not least Brian O'Driscoll, who never quite get over it. In 108 years of trying their country has still to beat New Zealand. Ultimately, though, this was a celebratory tale of sport's possibilities, not one of missed opportunities.

"It doesn't matter what it says up on the scoreboard," reflected the New Zealand coach, Steve Hansen, with an historic 14th win from 14 games in 2013 safely tucked away. "If you have the composure and the mental fortitude you can redress any deficit." The story's other moral should be printed on every press-room wall. It ain't over 'til it's over.