In a whirlwind trip to Hawke's Bay for the grand opening of a Smiths City store All Blacks captain Kieran Read has shared his thoughts on England's chances of a record-breaking test against Ireland this weekend.
England and Ireland will go head to head in Six Nations this Saturday ina bid to surpass the All Blacks' record run of 18 test victories in Dublin, Ireland.
Read said he hadn't paid too much attention to it because it was "just one of those things" that could potentially happen.
"I think they've been playing really well and so I think they've probably got a great chance of doing it. If they do, then good on them. You've got to pay them all the credit."
In October last year the All Blacks broke the world record for the most test match wins in a row by any country.
It was their 18th win in a row, but it ended in Chicago two weeks later when the All Blacks were beaten 40-29 by Ireland, the first time Ireland had beaten New Zealand.
"We got to that stage last year where we couldn't continue so if they're able to do it then well done," Read said.
Now that England has equalled the test record there are talks of arranging a match as England aren't scheduled to play against New Zealand until November 2018.
"Yeah it would be awesome to play them...if it could work out it would be great."
However Read said the All Blacks were focused on the Lions Tour this year.
"You've got to be wary too. The Lions is our major focus for this year and extra games at the end of the year can be tough for us, it's always been that way. So we do want to go out there and give it our best chance to be successful so I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
