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"Reassurance" is the watch-word for Iain Henderson after All Blacks result

When Ireland first beat the All Blacks in Chicago two years ago, Iain Henderson had to watch on f...



"Reassurance" is the w...
Videos

"Reassurance" is the watch-word for Iain Henderson after All Blacks result

When Ireland first beat the All Blacks in Chicago two years ago, Iain Henderson had to watch on from due to injury.

But on Saturday, he was able to be part of a historic first win on home soil over New Zealand.

A couple of days on, the Ulster second-row faced the media at a press conference and spoke of his pride at being part of Irish rugby's latest achievement.

"It's right up there. Very near the top. It was an incredible atmosphere and just an incredible experience all round the whole day," he said.

"I think in Chicago, the guys were over the moon and completely delighted with it. But at the weekend there, it probably acts as a reassurance as well.

"A lot of people might have said, 'Yeah, you got one over on them in Chicago and that was a one-off almost but would [Ireland] be able to back it up again two years later?'

"To show that we're still learning, we're still getting better and we're still learning from past performances, whether it be the Six Nations or whether it be the loss on the summer tour in Australia, we're constantly trying to get better and constantly looking to improve ourselves and being able to beat New Zealand again probably gives us some type of reassurance that we are continuing to better ourselves." 

The 26-year-old also touched on Joe Schmidt's future with the Ireland head coach's intentions beyond his current contract not clear.

"For the time being, Joe is 100% committed to the squad and if he does decide to move elsewhere, I've no doubt in my mind that right up until the last minute that Joe Schmidt is in the job, he will be 100% committed to anything that's happening," said Henderson.

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