adminDUNEDIN. – Head coach Andy Farrell says Ireland “back themselves against anyone” after they beat the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time to set up a series decider in Wellington on Saturday.
Ireland lost the first Test 42-19 in Auckland but comfortably defeated their 14-man hosts in Dunedin.
Farrell is braced for a Kiwi backlash but insists his side will approach the Wellington finale brimming with belief.
“We always get a response, don’t we?” he said.
“Everyone knows that, history tells you that. We’re used to it by now. We’ll look forward to that.
“We’ve created a little bit of history for ourselves, little old Ireland, but we’ve earned the right to take it to the last weekend to see what we can do in the final week.
“The players back themselves against anyone and the more we can keep giving them these occasions of playing the best teams in the world, the better they’re going to get.”
Having taken the lead through Andrew Porter’s third-minute try, Ireland did not trail at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium as they delivered a stylish 80-minute performance to keep the series alive.
The Irish also benefited from playing against 14 men for much of the second Test following Angus Ta’avao’s 31st-minute red card, which followed fellow All Blacks Leicester Fainga’anuku and Ofa Tu’ungafasi being sin-binned.
And while Ireland absorbed some pressure in the second half, Farrell said he was heartened by the growing composure within his ranks.
“I suppose the most impressive thing that we are doing pretty well at this moment in time is understanding where we’re at, each moment at a time and staying calm and not getting too overawed or frustrated with errors or decisions or not executing,” added the 47-year-old.
“We’re pretty good at trying to stay neutral and stay on task and it’s helping us to play in these big games and compete.” – BBC Sport
Online Reporter