Few could have appreciated the scale of the history more than Rob Kearney. And it felt at the time there wasn’t too many people fighting my corner!”New Zealand's Julian Savea is tackled by Ireland’s Jared Payne and Rob Kearney at Soldier Field, Chicago, in 2016. Ireland's Rob Kearney and Tadhg Furlong celebrate after beating New Zealand for the first time in 2016. I couldn’t even finish my second bottle of beer and I went to bed.”A fortnight later, helped by weak officiating by Jaco Peyper and his team, the All Blacks exacted a spiteful revenge. And we always said that the All Blacks never respected us until we won as a team, as a rugby nation.

Source: The Irish Times November 01, 2025 10:54 UTC