Irish eyes smiling after beating ABs

Irish eyes were smiling in pubs and living rooms across the country yesterday morning after Ireland secured a 16-9 victory against the All Blacks.

The victory was the first on Irish soil, after a win over New Zealand in Chicago in 2016.

In Wellington, owner of Irish bar D4, Dermot Murphy, pictured right, celebrated with punters after the final whistle.

Murphy said it was the second best day at his bar to date, topped only by when he got married there.

‘‘That was huge today. To me it felt like, leading up to the game, it felt like something big was happening.

‘‘It felt like there was a rumble in the jungle.’’

The All Blacks were brilliant, but the Irish team and coach Joe Schmidt ‘‘were so great’’, he said.

‘‘We were ready for this, and we are pretty much the best team in the world.’’

The bar was close to capacity with 177 people booked for the game at the bar, half Kiwis and half Irish, Murphy said.

The Irish people in the bar were ‘‘full of hope’’, while the Kiwis were expecting a usual win from the All Blacks, he said.

‘‘What the Irish did was amazing.’’

D4, on Featherston St, was named after a postcode in Dublin – the same post code as Aviva Stadium, where the All Blacks were hosted by the Irish.

The Irish team has now been labelled ‘‘No 1 team in the world’’ by All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

They have also been called ‘‘inspirational’’, with the victory part of a ‘‘golden age’’ for the boys in green.