Andrew Trimble Reveals The Biggest Factor In Ireland’s Famous Win On Saturday

A lot of teams are beaten before they even walk onto a pitch against the All Blacks.

It is a mind game that they have perfected over the years. Yes of course they are a well drilled, highly talented and extremely skilled outfit, but they are not unbeatable as many teams have been led to believe. Ireland proved that on Saturday.

Unbeaten in eighteen test games, a world rugby record, and having never beaten them in 29 attempts after 111 years of trying. The task once again seemed impossible for Joe Schmidt’s Ireland team.

Ireland winger Andrew Trimble has revealed that it was that psychological battle that Ireland had to overcome, that ended up being the biggest factor in their famous and first-ever win over the mighty All Blacks. You have to believe you can beat them first and the rest will follow.

“You’re wrestling with yourself mentally to go out there with the mindset to try and convince yourself that you’re good enough to do it,” the winger told RTÉ Sport

“People laugh at you if say to them, ‘ah yeah, we’re going to go out and we’re going to beat the All Blacks at the weekend’.

“That tussle in your mentality [makes it] difficult to keep single-minded and keep positive and keep going at them and keep believing you’re good enough to do it.

“[It’s] not easy in the slightest to get rid of those [factors], to be honest.

“It’s so difficult to go out with a positive mindset and to believe that it’s possible to beat the All Blacks because hardly anybody does it.

Once that mental battle was won, the Ulster back was convinced that the game plan was in place to end an unwanted the 111-year record

“The All Blacks just hammer everybody that they play against.”

It’s not something that just happens,” said the 32-year-old.

“Obviously, you put a game plan in place and you look after all those little details and then you know if you get all of those things right, which is a big ask, then you might have a chance.

“You try and convince yourself that you’re good enough to do it and be positive and keep attacking.

“And I think we did enough, were positive enough to have enough belief that we could do it in the end, get us over the line.”

Up next for Ireland is a clash with Canada this Saturday, The following week they welcome a wounded All Blacks side, who will no doubt be out to seek revenge.