Basking in the afterglow of Ireland's win of Saturday night, Bernard Jackman has singled out the incalculable importance of how Joe Schmidt's side targeted the All Blacks' Brodie Retallick.
The unsuspecting victim of an early hammering from the recalled Devin Toner, Jackman is under no illusions that Ireland had planned to target the talismanic figure from the outset.
"I think if you want to win a battle, the thing to do is kill the king as quickly as possible," Jackman asserted on Against the Head this evening.
"I know Kieran Read is the captain, and Beauden Barrett is a huge part of their game, but I thought we targeted Brodie Retallick from early doors.
"He's just so important to them, and its a huge moment when you can drive their talisman backwards."
Analysing Ireland's approach from the kick-off, Jackman couldn't help but notice the fact that Sexton's decision to target Retallick with these went against conventional knowledge.
"Not many teams kick-off to Retallick," Jackman pointed out.
"But Johnny Sexton didn't fear it, and [we] had him going backwards.
"This just breaks their confidence and momentum that little bit."
In the end, Retallick's poor handling would result in Ireland seeing out a momentous win. After a tough evening in the Aviva, Jackman believed he simply looked a "broken man" in the end.
