It’s difficult to decide which deficiency should top Andy Farrell’s list of importance when it comes to the inevitable review of Saturday’s defeat to the All Blacks.His post-match comments focused on error count and a lack of flow in attack, the end result being an inability to stress the Kiwi defence. Black shirts revelled in finding green ones right on or behind the gain line, forcing sequences of repeated negative carries reminiscent of the late Schmidt/early Farrell era.There were exceptions, Joe McCarthy being a prominent one. On a day when Ireland lacked both the sufficient guile and power to create defensive holes, McCarthy was one of the few players to consistently impact the game positively.We regularly hear talk of Ireland lacking the cattle to compete with the world’s best, be it pace out wide or sheer brawn up front. McCarthy definitely has the latter, to go with plenty of other desirable qualities. The manner in which he performed against a top international rival serves as reminder that he is one of Ireland’s most important players.One of the great cliche’s about McCarthy’s position focuses on the ease of missing what actually happens. The so-called unseen or dirty work, hitting rucks, tackling close to the ruck. Moments left on the cutting room floor of highlights packages.Mercifully for those who decide to profile his display from the weekend, that is not the case with McCarthy. His mullet renders unseen status impossible. So does his impact. The try he scored is one thing and it was a microcosm of what he does well on a consistent basis in contact. Carrying the ball close to the Kiwi line, he made a subtle hitch step off the right foot to run outside the shoulder of opposite number Josh Lord, rather than into his midriff where more tackling power can be generated.Standing outside McCarthy, Dan Sheehan’s latch, taking out the would-be second tackler in Will Jordan, certainly helped. But Big Joe would have had the power to work through a winger to go with the subtlety of his footwork. This was a feature of McCarthy’s work in contact throughout the day. His first notable carry on eight minutes featured a late step to get over the gain line. Three minutes later, it was a strong leg drive that forced three black shirts into action to bring him down. Power and guile.Those examples came during a first half that saw Ireland’s attack largely fail to fire. The second half started off in a much more effective fashion, an early purple patch culminating in McCarthy’s try.Ireland's Joe McCarthy is tackled by New Zealand’s Luke Jacobson. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho He was an important figure in the build-up, tracking a line-break from Stuart McCloskey’s carry and offload, McCarthy showing off his athleticism to break into the Kiwi half. The lock also played scrumhalf at an important breakdown in that passage, ensuring the tempo remained high.McCarthy made the joint-highest number of passes of any Irish forward, highlighting his ability as a link player. If anything, his first touch of the game was a pass that probably shouldn’t have been made, opting to send the ball out the back to Prendergast instead of charging into contact. Ireland were regularly guilty of playing wide before the right was earned.When looking at stats from Ireland games, their busiest player more often than not is Caelan Doris. He regularly tops the carry totals, while he’s normally there or there abouts in the tackle count.Doris, of course, was felled during Leinster’s URC run-in. Someone else needed to fill the gap. On Saturday, it was largely McCarthy. His 16 carries were comfortably the most by anyone in green, ditto his 23 successful tackles. He beat the most defenders by an Irishman with three, while making more ground than any other forward Irish forward (42 metres).Look at these metrics for a sign of how Ireland were lacking in backline incision compared to their All Black counterparts. McCarthy, a lock, was the top carrier in green while Quinn Tupaea, Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan and Jordie Barrett – all backs – were the busiest in black.What of the penalty count, often a knock against McCarthy who enjoys being one of the bigger men on the park, sometimes to a fault? A solitary infringement is a more than acceptable return.Perhaps it’s disingenuous to be overly positive about an individual when Ireland have been humbly reminded of their place in the global pecking order. Ireland as a whole were average, at times poor, but McCarthy often offered a positive outlet. Not always by himself, it should be said.Ireland have roughly 14 months to close the gap on New Zealand, France and South Africa before the next World Cup. Time enough to find the sufficient cattle? We shall see. At least McCarthy was one impressive bull.