Rugby

Seán O’Brien admits huge disappointment over New Zealand defeat

‘They have that belief, that’s what we have to get to.’

Ireland’s Seán O’Brien tries to shrug off New Zealand’s Luke Romano during the autumn international at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Sun Nov 24 2013 - 16:34

Ireland flanker Seán O’Brien admitted his bitter disappointment after the heroic added-time defeat to New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium.

The All Blacks came back from 19 points down to claim a 24-22 victory thanks to a last-gasp try from Ryan Crotty and a twice-taken conversion from Aaron Cruden.

It was a cruel conclusion to a magnificent performance by Joe Schmidt’s side, whose long wait for a first win over New Zealand continued.

O’Brien: “We are not happy losing the game like that. We started so well and got such a lead, not finishing them off, we have to have a long, hard look at ourselves and see where we can improve.

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“They have that belief, that’s what we have to get to. I think there was a little bit of trust needed in the last couple of minutes. It’s just really, really disappointing. We have to assess (what happened) next time we get into camp together.”

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