JAMIE HEASLIP HAS faced the All Blacks seven times.
Seven defeats, and a combined points difference of -124 for the Ireland sides he has been part of.
Tap the words ‘Jamie Heaslip New Zealand’ into Google and among the top results is YouTube footage of his red card for kneeing Richie McCaw in the 16th minute of the 66-28 defeat to the Kiwis in New Plymouth in 2010.
Then there’s 2013. Not the fondest memories.
And yet, the last two times Heaslip has taken on the All Blacks, matters have been tight. The Leinster number eight missed the 60-0 humbling in the third Test in 2012, meaning his two most recent games against the Kiwis have seen Ireland lose 22-19 and 24-22.
“I’ve played in two games where we’ve almost taken an All Blacks scalp but in both situations it boiled down to that last 10-minute window,” says Heaslip.
“And I think they’re aware of that as well.”
With the number eight likely to be rested for Leinster’s meeting with Connacht on Saturday, the clash with New Zealand in Chicago on 5 November is foremost in his mind.
Joe Schmidt’s Ireland will meet for a training session in the coming days, following this afternoon’s squad announcement, with two more pitch sessions to come next week. Not too long to prepare for the best team in the world.
“So really three pitch sessions to get ready for a team that’s gone back-to-back at the World Cup, and just broken the record for the biggest winning streak [18 games]. They are playing some amazing football, but what an opportunity if you do get the outcome.”
Heaslip says the biggest learning he has taken from his experiences of playing the All Blacks is that the bench is utterly pivotal. That was underlined in 2013, when Steve Hansen’s changes in the second half had a major effect.
“You’ve got to have 23 players all singing off the same hymn sheet, all knowing what they’ve got to do, and are mentally and physically ready for that intensity,” says Heaslip.
“Myself and Johnny [Sexton], it kind of popped up in conversation last week when we were chatting away, and we said that it’s going to be one of the most physically demanding games that we ever play in, whoever plays it.
“One of the more mentally challenging games as well, trying to think your way through the game while you’re playing it at 100 miles an hour, the way they play and the way we want to play.”
Heaslip says he didn’t go along with the public reaction to the 2013 result, the praise Ireland received for their performance and effort not sitting well with a man who simply saw it as another defeat.
“I was a bit annoyed that everyone said, ‘Oh fair play to you, ye went toe to toe with them,’ but I was like, ‘Yeah, we still lost’ and I’m not ever going to pat myself on the back for losing. Not in this sport, not in this game.”
Joe Schmidt was only at the beginning of his tenure in November 2013, but he has now committed to the Ireland job all the way through to the 2019 World Cup.
Heaslip welcomes the much-delayed confirmation of Schmidt’s new contract as “great news” and stresses that the Ireland head coach is someone who constantly innovates.
Now Schmidt is aiming to bring down his homeland, helping Ireland to their first-ever victory against the All Blacks.
While 2013 remains a bitter memory for Heaslip, and for Schmidt, the number eight underlines that Ireland will take some confidence from that close call.
He has respect for how the All Blacks consistently reinvent themselves, dealing with retirements comfortably and always offering different tactical threats, but he also sees them as beatable.
The learnings [are] in terms of that they are not unbeatable,” says Heaslip. “They are just 15 blokes on a field against you.
“They might be 15 big blokes or 15 good players, but at the end of the day they are just 15 other men in front of you.
“It’s all about the strength of our collective and how, when we come together and we’re all singing off the same hymn sheet and pointing in the same direction, we are a powerful force.”
Jamie Heaslip launched “Irish Rugby: What We Did Last Summer”, a documentary commissioned by Vodafone as part of the #TeamOfUs campaign. It will air on RTÉ One on Thursday 10 November at 10.15pm. See www.rugby.vodafone.ie for more.
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