The All Blacks learned plenty from their pair of November series Tests against Ireland.
They discovered that they weren’t unbeatable when they were overturned by Joe Schmidt’s men in Chicago, they found out that they could get away with an awful lot of rule-bending when they exacted their vicious revenge in Dublin and, apparently, they picked up the lyrics to Ireland’s Call along the way.
While animosity continued past the final whistle in the most recent meeting of Ireland and New Zealand, as the New Zealand Herald published an exposé on RTÉ reporter Clare McNamara after she challenged All Blacks coach Steve Hansen during a tense interview after the game, it seems all is forgiven and forgotten now.
The All Blacks players clearly enjoyed their time in Ireland a fortnight ago as they took part in a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call while stopping off in Germany to fulfil sponsorship obligations with adidas.
World Rugby Player of the Year Beauden Barrett, captain Kieran Read, Israel Dagg and Aaron Smith can be seen in the video, from Alan Boyle’s YouTube page, belting out the lyrics over a few hard-earned adult beverages at a German pub this week.
It’s great to see the craic being spread by some of the best players in the world but we’ll reserve judgement until we hear them give Amhrán na bhFiann a go.
Michael Lundy joins Wooly for a wide-ranging discussion that starts with a chat about Ger Loughnane, dodgy transfers and Davy Fitzgerald’s training methods. Subscribe here on iTunes.
