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'Sorry Ireland, we didn't need to get motivated playing you': All Blacks great

Dejected Irish players fall to the ground immediately at the final whistle after defeat by Argentina. 1999 Rugby World Cup, Ireland v Argentina, Stade Felix Bollaert, Lens, France. Picture credit: Matt Browne / SPORTSFILE (Photo by Sportsfile/Corbis/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

It must be hard to imagine for All Blacks that were playing only ten years ago that a rivalry with Ireland would not only soon emerge, but be one of the biggest in the game.

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Given that Ireland had to wait 111 years to taste victory over the All Blacks, it is understandable why any player who pulled on the black jersey prior to that historic day in Chicago in 2016 would have been slightly dismissive of the men in green.

Now with five wins in their last nine meetings, that has all changed, but former All Blacks Zinzan Brooke and Justin Marshall recently gave an insight into the All Blacks’ “type of arrogance” when facing sides that had never beaten them.

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      On The Good, the Bad & the Rugby podcast, the pair discussed how the “dynamic’s changed” between Ireland and New Zealand, and how Friday’s hosts at the Aviva Stadium no longer fear the three-time world champions.

      From Peter O’Mahony’s comments to Sam Cane to Reiko Ioane’s message to Johnny Sexton last year, this is now a Test with a lot of “spice”, to which Brooke believes “if you’re going to give it out, you’ve got to take it as well.”

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      While this is now one of the biggest games in the rugby calendar, that was not always the case, as the former All Blacks No 8 explains.

      “Sorry to say, Ireland, but we didn’t need to get motivated back in the day playing you guys,” Brooke said.

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      “You couldn’t. You didn’t. You turned up, kicked their arse and do the job.

      “We just knew if we just deliver and we just function and we just do the basics, you’ll p**s this.”

      Marshall added: “A massive advantage that we had when we played was that they had never beaten us. So history was hanging over them as well. That’s quite heavy baggage to have knowing that for over 100 years you’d been trying. We know that you’ve got all the pressure because you don’t know how to get the job done, whereas we do because we’ve been doing it for over 100 years.

      “So that was why we had that type of arrogance because Scotland’s never beaten us, Ireland had never beaten us, when we were playing Argentina had never beaten us, Wales hadn’t beaten us and still haven’t in sixty-odd years. All of a sudden, we’ve got that mentality. Whereas this current side, with Ireland beating them for the first time in Chicago, that’s not a burden for them any more. So the dynamic’s changed from when we were playing, because we had that edge.”

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      Comments

      19 Comments
      J
      Jmann 211 days ago

      I put that as 2 out of the last 3 to the ABs including a RWC knock-out game and Ireland at their home fortress. I think the ABs have got back on top of Ireland

      H
      Head high tackle 211 days ago

      Amazing to see so many Irish fans begging Dmac for a selfie with him. More amazing to see him spending a long time doing it.

      J
      JW 211 days ago

      Is it Ireland the ABs don't get motivated for though?


      Only 10 players running out onto the field will be Irish.

      R
      RedWarriors 211 days ago

      From Peter O’Mahony’s comments to Sam Cane to Reiko Ioane’s message to Johnny Sexton last year, this is now a Test with a lot of “spice”, to which Brooke believes “if you’re going to give it out, you’ve got to take it as well.”


      I think "Arrogance" is the word here.

      Sledging during the match is not the same as abusing players and spectators after the final whistle.

      As well as that being a nastily arrogant act, NZs inability to admit when they get things wrong is a further symptom of entitlement and arrogance.

      Mocking beaten players and spectators is wrong: even when the "Great All Blacks" no ifs, no buts.

      Remember NZ were too big to have a beer with a team they didn't rate, never mind swap a jersey. Perhaps time these "Humble Heroes" were brought down to earth a bit.

      A truly global game like soccer, where everybody plays, and the winners are truly world class: they shake hands, they swap jerseys, they respect opponents.

      Y
      YeowNotEven 211 days ago

      That’s where you’re wrong about all of this.

      It is perfectly fine to sledge immediately after the whistle.

      That little toot-toot-tooooot isn’t a magic sound that waves all emotion away.

      It was still red mist, elation, and whereas POM had the luxury of sledging when the game was as good as won, the ABs had to defend for 37 phases.

      Too busy to sledge.

      They left it for immediately after the whistle which is fine.

      If they sledged in the media or after match function then you’d be right.

      Anyway.

      Everyone’s moved on so let’s all be friends again.

      J
      Jmann 211 days ago

      awwww - precious

      H
      Head high tackle 211 days ago

      Yep bringing up a match verbal some 12 mths after is just plain arrogance. I guess you believe you will "see SA in the final" still. Most arrogant team running around. Ireland are now clearly "slipping" and it will be great to see the rankings come out this week. Ireland, ( G-P, Aki and Lowe ) have lost their Mana.

      B
      Bruiser 211 days ago

      You mean like Sexton swearing at Pyper after a game he wasn't even playing. Should have been banned from world cup but glad he wasn't as he was a match winner for NZ and Rieks could give him send off he deserved

      S
      SC 211 days ago

      The Irish need to harden up if what Reiko did to them (hand to his ear) leaves them offended. Mertens flicked the Saffas the bird and they got over it quick smart. Mind you that was before us couch warriors were given a platform so I could be wrong.

      N
      Ninjin 211 days ago

      🤫

      A
      Ace 211 days ago

      And the broken record keeps turning.

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      S
      SteveD 1 hour ago
      Bulls book Leinster URC showdown but injury to Springbok tarnishes win

      Dear heaven, what a pathetic and embarrassing game of rugby. As a Sharks supporter back in the wonderful Ian Mac days, I was even hoping, for SA rugby’s sake, that the hated Bulls would win so that they might at least give Leinster a bit of a game, but frankly, when a team almost has three players in the sinbin at the same time, then I imagine I might not be able to stand watching them get thrashed in Dublin next Saturday evening if they carry out the same Northern Transvaal stupidity of the old days. WTF did they think they were doing?


      As for the Sharks, there's maybe a light at the end of the tunnel however, if they just follow my advice. I haven't watched their recent games but now I see where their problems lie. Three of them in fact. Firstly, get rid of Plumtree for - at the minimum - selecting reasons (2) and (3). Secondly and thirdly, get rid of the Hendrikse brothers. Who on earth thinks that those two are top quality rugby players needs to be in an asylum, or they'll likely send a lot of the Sharks supporters there instead, if they haven't already. They are useless - I mean, FFS, the so-called flyhalf can't even select boots that don't slip when he's taking multiple placekicks (to say stuffall about trying to put penalty kicks from 60 metres over - and failing - when a freaking lineout might have produced a try, even if he missed the conversion) - and I can now see why the team of ‘real’ Boks are doing so badly, having two idiots at scrumhalf and flyhalf. If they stay in the squad, Sharks supporters should rather cash in their season tickets and go watch the best English-speaking (and sixth all-round overall) SA rugby team, Westville Boys High, than suffer so much pain at King's Park.

      1 Go to comments
      J
      JW 2 hours ago
      Broken hand or not, Richie Mo'unga is still New Zealand's best 10

      I agree that he chose to go - but when he was starting for the All Blacks and it was clear that Scott Roberston was going to be the coach in 2024

      That’s not the case at all. There was huge fear that the continued delaying was going to cause Robertson to go. That threat resulted in the unpresented act of appointing a new coach, after Richie had left I made add that I recall, during a WC cycle.

      Mo’unga was finally going to get the chance to prove he was the better 10 all along - then he decides to go to Japan.

      Again, No. He did that without Razor (well maybe he played a part from within the Crusaders environment) needing to be the coach.

      He’d probably already earned 3-4 million at that stage. The NZRU would’ve given him the best contract they could’ve, probably another million or more a year.

      Do some googling and take a look at the timelines. That idea you have is a big fallacy.

      I also agree to those who say that Hansen and Foster never really gave Mo’unga a fair go. They both only gave Mo’unga a real shot when it was clear their preferred 10’s weren’t achieving/available; they chucked him in the deep end at RWC 2019, and Foster only gave him a real shot in 2022 when Foster was about to be dropped mid-season.

      That’s the right timeline. But I’d suggest it was just unfortunate Mo’unga (2019), they probably would have built into him more appropriately but Dmac got injured and Barrett switched to fullback. Maybe not the best decisions those, Hansen was making clangers all over the show, but yeah, there was also the fact Barrett was on millions so became ‘automatic’, but even before then I thought Richie would have been the better player.


      Yep Reihana in 2026, and Love in 2025! I don’t think Richie had anything to prove, this whole number 1 thing is bogus.

      129 Go to comments
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