All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock, during the team training session held at the Westmanstown Sports Complex, Dublin. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Former Ireland international Tony Ward says there is equal pressure on both sides to win in Sunday's clash between the All Blacks and Ireland in Dublin.
Two weeks ago, Ireland secured their maiden win over the All Blacks in 105 years of trying following a 40-29 win in Chicago. Ward
played for Munster in the only other big win for an Irish team over New Zealand, when he led his club side to a 12-0 win pver the All Blacks in 1978.
The commentator told Radio Sport's Martin Devlin on the DRS that Sunday's game is 'huge in very many ways'.
"Were the All Blacks team, at the end of their greatest year in their history given what they achieved with the 18-match run, to lose two games on this tour and to the same opposition, that had never beaten them before, just a fortnight apart I think it would amount to a bit of a disaster. So there's huge pressure," he said.
"But equally why it's so big here is because, yes the bar has been raised by the Irish performance in Chicago but also there is just has much pressure on the Ireland team as there is on the New Zealand team because if they to underperform on Saturday and to be well beaten, then people would say ' well it [Chicago] really was a freak result'.
