JACK CONAN AND Hugo Keenan have sought to control the hype in the aftermath of Saturday’s 29-20 victory over New Zealand.
Fully aware of how Ireland failed to build on their 2016 and 2018 wins over the All Blacks at the 2019 World Cup, both Conan and Keenan are seeking to build on this display rather than bask in its glory.
“People always say, ‘winning makes you soft.’ It does,” said Conan. “Sometimes it can paper over the cracks. You think, ‘oh yeah, we won, we had a great performance’. But, again, we left loads of points out there. Some of our lineout stuff wasn’t great, or we missed bullets and barrels in rucks that we should have got, things like that.
“For us, it’s about not believing the hype. Yeah, we are a good side, but we are not as good as people are saying. I’m sure everyone will be saying how great we are and, yeah, it is fantastic to beat those lads, to give the Irish public that massive day, a huge lift, but we are not as good as people think we are.”
That may be so, yet the fact remains that New Zealand have been the world’s best side in 2021. It’s hard to improve on a win over the world’s best, isn’t it? Conan, however, believes that Ireland have the capacity to do so.
“How many times were we on their try-line and we didn’t come away with points?
“That’s something we will have to rectify because against such a good side like that, yeah we got away with it, but the next week against Argentina or in the summer when we are over in New Zealand, we won’t.”
Despite his harsh self-assessment of the victory, Conan did allow himself some solace. This win will appear on his career highlights reel.
“I’ve never played the All Blacks and now to be part of a side to beat them in Dublin… What is it, only the third side ever in Irish history to beat them? We spoke about it on Thursday night.
“Johnny (Sexton) said, ‘This is a chance to write your name into Irish history, into rugby history, to be one of the few people that have ever beaten the All Blacks’. Long after all of us hang up the boots, that memory and that legacy will bond us. It’s something when you’re 60 or 70 that you can tell your grandkids about. It’s why we do it.”
Full-back, Hugo Keenan, added: “They’re beatable if you perform and play to that top level which I think we did.
“You have to respect them, they’re the best in the world but that’s where we want to be ourselves. We spoke about it, not wanting to be underdogs chasing it, we want to be at that level
“This is only the beginning. There’s no silverware, we haven’t won anything.
“It means a lot to us, a lot to the fans. But it’s only the start of a long journey for us to the World Cup.
“That’s what we’re building towards. There’s a few stages to get there.
“It’s not about resting on our laurels. For me it’s about keep improving and keep my name in that teamsheet for more days like this.”
