Top man.

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster showed his class after Ireland’s impressive win over New Zealand on Saturday, stating that he believed it was “probably the best performance in my time by Ireland.”

And while the men in green have put in some memorable performances over the years, including previous wins against the All Blacks in 2016 ans 2018 – it’s hard to disagree with Foster, given the comprehensive manner of Ireland’s victory.

Sure, only 9 points separated the two sides on the scoreboard in the end, but the full 80 minutes told a different story, with Ireland in complete control from start to finish in a performance for the ages.

Foster, interestingly, was asked after the game about the three New Zealand players in Ireland’s team on Saturday – Bundee Aki, James Lowe, and Jamison Gibson-Park, who all played key roles in the victory, and his answer was pure class.

“I only saw three Irish players,” Foster said.

A very respectable answer from the New Zealand boss, who answered the question without missing a beat.

As for the Irish performance itself, Foster had nothing but praise for Andy Farrell’s side.

“Congrats to Ireland,” Foster said.

“I thought they thoroughly deserved their win in the game.

“They came out and played incredibly well and held ball for long periods we did really really well in hanging in there and frustrating them and taking our two scores kept us hanging in the game.

“I was really impressed by their high tempo game it kept us chasing and at the end when it really mattered, we did not have the composure to take [our chances]. They played a pressure game similar to several of the games we have faced them in before so congratulations to them.”