WXV: 'It’s hard to describe what a victory like this means for Irish people'

As Irish rugby fans went to sleep last night, little did they believe that by morning there would be a truly epic result waiting for them after Ireland beat the world champions, the Black Ferns, in the opening round of WXV 1 2024.

With the tricky time zones, I took myself off to bed and drifted off to sleep somewhere around the 50th minute of USA v England. Knowing in the back of my mind that surely if I stayed up to watch the Irish game then I would jinx the girls and a hiding would be certain.

When I stirred in the morning around 7 am French time, I had an inkling that the magic had worked. As I reached for my phone I knew that the first piece of content to appear on my screen would be the result of the game. Algorithms and all that. “Holy moly! They have actually done it!”

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It’s hard to describe what a victory like this means for Irish people. Beating New Zealand in rugby has long been the result that stands out from all the rest. The David and Goliath clash. The holy grail of rugby clashes where New Zealand have been the long-standing giants and Ireland doing all they could for years and years to try and even come close to beating them.

In 1978 the All Blacks came to Ireland on a tour. They played Munster in a midweek clash in Thomond Park and the home side pulled off a 12-0 victory. I was born over a decade later and when I was growing up, they were still talking about it. Heck, they even wrote a musical about it and performed it on stage for years. Rugby fans wanting to relive that moment over and over. “The day Munster beat the All Blacks.”

The senior men’s side chipped away for years but in 2012 they were served up with a real reminder of who was the chief in this contest when New Zealand handed them a 60-0 defeat in Hamilton. The biggest defeat on record between the sides.

However, it was a mere two years later when Ireland turned history on its head. Not the men, but the women, became the first ever senior international Irish side to beat New Zealand. On that infamous day in Marcoussis, Paris in 2014, New Zealand were heading into that pool fixture as four times world champions and probably felt like Ireland were a side to swat away on the journey to their fifth title.

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They were subsequently knocked out of the competition and England ended up winning the World Cup title that year. The Black Ferns have won every World Cup since.

The images of that day have gone down in Irish rugby history. Niamh Briggs’ counterattack, Ali Miller sneaking into the corner, the girls flying in on top of her to celebrate and the tears and jubilation at full time.

That was the beginning of the tide turning for Ireland in this historical fixture. It took just another two years for a win versus New Zealand to come Ireland’s way. It had been 111 years since the first clash between the two men’s sides and they finally conquered their Everest when the All Blacks went down to Ireland in Chicago in a travelling test game in 2016.

When Irish people talk about Soldier Field the powerful image of the number 8 shaped out by the players to face the Haka in memory of Anthony Foley instantly comes to mind.

They are days that will never be forgotten in Irish rugby’s memory and as Irish rugby fans rolled over in their cots this morning and woke to the news of the most recent victory over New Zealand, we knew that there would be one more to add to the history books.

It might be easy to think that the current gap between these two teams isn’t so huge, given how comfortable Ireland looked. But make no mistake! This is a huge result for Ireland! In 2022, while one team was being crowned Rugby World Cup Champions, the other team was at home having the summer off.

I could write paragraph after paragraph of each player and how they performed. We could analyse their coaching styles, their selection, their set piece. I could go into detail on their attack and defence, brutal physicality, intelligent gameplay and downright fearlessness.

However, I feel there will be plenty of time for homework and analysis on these players as it looks like this team is here to stay. For now, let’s relish this feeling. Let’s honour this moment in Irish rugby where players and fans spent over a century at the mercy of mighty New Zealand.

It’s not every day you beat the Black Ferns.