Ireland have made history beating the All Blacks for the first time in Ireland and for only the second time in history. All while being the first northern hemisphere side to keep New Zealand from scoring a try in a game in over twenty years. Former Ireland and Leinster hooker Shane Byrne spoke to Jamie Moore on this morning’s Now That’s What I Call Sport.
The atmosphere in the sold-out Aviva Stadium was unbelievable with the crowd undoubtedly being the sixteenth man on the field helping the boys in green get over the line with the win. Byrne had his say on the momentous occasion.
“There was an absolutely electric atmosphere.”
“The passion shown by the crowd, they really got behind the team.”
“You could see some of the guys trying to stifle back the emotions just to get going.”
One key element In Ireland’s vast improvement over the past few years is the appointment of head coach Joe Schmidt, who is a New Zealand man himself. Shane Byrne shared his thoughts on Schmidt and his future as the Ireland head coach.
“If only we could hand out lifetime contracts.”
“Unfortunately for us the likelihood is becoming irresistible for New Zealand to go after him.”
“We all know he is with us until the World Cup, I think maybe he’ll give us another two years after that and then someone else will transition into the role but we all know he is a kiwi at heart. They will want to get him back home, but he’s been absolutely fantastic.”
Listen to the show in full below;
On this morning’s show we were joined by ex-Ireland international Darren O’Dea and current captain Seamus Coleman on Ireland’s poor form. Dublin born Ayman Ben Mohamed who is a Tunisia international and recently won the African champions league with his side Esperance Sportive de Tunis talks his experiences in Africa and the decision to leave Ireland. We have all the latest on Ireland’s Homeless World Cup run in Mexico in which they are in the Telmex Tercel final today against Romania.
Now That’s What I Call Sport is live every Sunday morning from 9am.
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