Rugby is my game; it has been since I went to boarding school at the age of 10. For 40 years I have waited for Ireland to beat the All Blacks, the closest in result terms was in 1973 when we drew 10-10, the closest we have come to beating them was yesterday at Lansdowne road. We also had a close game in NZ last summer in the second test again won by the AB’s in the last few minutes, yesterday’s win saw them strangle the life out of us with the last play of the match. Oh the agony, it’s so very hard to put this into words.

The intelligentsia scoffs at sporting contests in the modern era as cheap thrills, mind-numbing entertainment for the masses, meaningless and not important. Not important! Go fuck yourselves.

It was on I knew it and felt it and so did everyone else at least after we scored the first try, we pounded them with muscle and ran amok with the ball it was beautiful to watch hardly a mistake in the first half and not one penalty against us. Ireland were on fire, watching Rob Kearney’s face coming off the pitch at half time he knew it was on, veins bulging, eyes popping, heads spinning and blood curdling screams which made the haka seem like a kids party, inoffensive and sweet. This was rugby and it was certainly the finest 1st half I have ever seen Ireland play, and all of Ireland knew it.

We expected the backlash after half time and it came and it went and Ireland kept at it, we were playing well and certainly we had the bounce of the ball. Then with 4 minutes to go we had a kick to put us 2 scores ahead and no question the game, we missed the kick, shaved the post. We received the ball from the resulting 22 and kept it, exactly the right tactic smashing into the AB’s. The entire back row was amazing for the whole game all four of them, we almost blew in it in those few minutes by a badly placed field kick but we had the pill back and again pounded the AB’s and with 27 seconds on the clock we gave away a penalty from a ruck situation.

I knew it, the crowd knew it and the AB’s knew it they ran a ball and scored in the corner, last play of the game, the first conversion was missed and the AB’s got another chance because we charged early, a kind of twisting of the blade. I didn’t care about the draw I am sure the players couldn’t give a fiddlers, they put so much in and yet got nothing. Maybe a little respect from the AB’s but who cares about that, I just want to beat them once and say I was there. NZ’s rugby league team pulled the same stunt in England yesterday winning with the last play, the second test of the last tour a last minute win, what is it about? Why does this happen? Do the many Gods of the land of the long white cloud give power to their team during the Haka? what does it invoke in them? why do we always get fucked?

I’ll tell you why because it is never over until the fat lady sings and if that porky bitch could have bellowed 30 sec’s early the rugby world and Ireland would be a better place today. It’s not because we are not good enough, we were better than them.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/9438241/McCaw-hails-belief-as-All-Blacks-conjure-win

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/all-blacks-express-relief-as-ireland-lose-belief-1.1605849