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The skills, the fitness, the pressure - All Blacks legend Mealamu on Ireland's test

We met the 132-times capped hooker in South Auckland to hear more about his Test career.

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This post is part of The42′s Facing History series, supported by Cadbury Boost. To read more, click here.

KEVEN MEALAMU IS behind only Richie McCaw on the list of most capped All Blacks, with the hooker having experienced the highs and lows of Test rugby over the course of his 132 Test appearances.

The now-retired 37-year-old was part of the 2003 and 2007 World Cup failures, before helping the All Blacks to glory at the 2011 and 2015 tournaments.

Mealamu was central to the Kiwis’ 2005 whitewash of the Lions, while he also won numerous Tri-Nations, Rugby Championships and Bledisloe Cups.

We caught up with the former Blues hooker at FIT60, the gym he now runs with his wife, Latai, in Takanini, South Auckland.

Mealamu told us about the privilege and pressure that comes with wearing the black jersey, as well pointing out some of the strengths of the current All Blacks that Ireland must negate next month in Chicago and Dublin.

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