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All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has copped Saturday’s streak-ending defeat against Ireland on the chin
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Speaking immediately after Ireland’s historic 40-29 victory at Chicago’s Soldier Field, Hansen made no excuses
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“The right side won,” Hansen told sideline broadcast interviewers
New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen admitted “the right side won” after his side were beaten in Chicago by Ireland.
Hansen resisted temptation to blame his side’s defeat on a number of injuries, giving Ireland full credit after they defeated the All Blacks for the first time in 111 years.
Noting the jubilation of Ireland’s fans present at Soldier Field, Hansen was humble in defeat as his side lost their first Test in 19 attempts.
“We trained well enough, we prepared well enough, we thought but clearly we didn’t get a few things right,” Hansen told Sky TV.
“They put us under pressure and deserved the win. We’re not going to make any excuses about not having the right people.
“The right side won. The Irish played very well and congratulations to them. When you see their fans going like they are now it’s about time they won one.”
Hansen also admitted that the pressure his team were under forced them to give up penalties they would have rather avoided, as Ireland built up an impressive 30-8 lead.
“The first half they had all the momentum. We talked before the game about not giving away avoidable penalties but because of the pressure we did,” he added.
“They built momentum and then we were chasing.”
