Ireland, as a nation, stands erect this morning: we've had a considerable weight lifted off our shoulders. A 40-29 victory against the All Blacks in Soldier Field is our first after more than a century of trying, and the New Zealand media were full of praise for Ireland, and in particular Joe Schmidt.
Steve Hansen also praised Schmidt and Ireland highly, and was impressed by how quickly Ireland got themselves organised and attacked All Black weaknesses, particularly when injury forced New Zealand to shunt Ardie Savea to an unfamiliar position on the wing.
That was a topic after the game in Schmidt's interview with New Zealand TV afterwards, with Schmidt also pointing to the fact that the loss of Luke Romano, Brode Retallick and Sam Whitelock was a factor that swung the game in Ireland's favour, too.
At the end of the interview, Schmidt apologised to his mum, who is a big New Zealand supporter.
Watch below:
https://youtu.be/06mIarA63Xk
We think she might forgive him.
