Mack Hansen admits New Zealand home loss a 'dreadful' experience
"Losing at home is always dreadful and we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t good enough and also that it just wasn’t us."
Mack Hansen says the defeat to the All Blacks hurt the Ireland squad a lot.
Forget the fact that they had worked hard to play down the revenge factor all through last week; the All Blacks are very much the side to beat in the players' minds.
The limp 10-point defeat hurt doubly - Ireland were at home and hadn't been competitive enough against the team they most want to be measured against.
READ MORE: Ireland v New Zealand: Player ratings as hosts outplayed at Aviva Stadium
"I’ve seen some things and people saying the rivalry is dead," said Hansen. "But people forget we recently beat them twice in a row, and the rivalry wasn’t dead then, was it? They’ve got the last two, but we have a good win rate over them.
"People are always very eager to jump on you when you’re down. It’s like in South Africa, nobody gave them a hope after the first test. And what happens? They come back and win it.
"That’s the best thing about this group. The outside noise is outside noise, and nobody knows what goes in here, how hard we work, and how resilient we are. People can chat away."
That there was such disappointment was also down to believing the pre-November Series training camp had gone so well.
"A bit of hurt, obviously," continues the Connacht winger, "and what was worse about it was how we prepared so well for it and were excited for it. There were just a few key moments we let slip, we were ready for that game, it felt like it anyway.
"So for the game to go the way it did, it wasn’t an exciting spectacle that everyone is kind of used to.
"That’s more the thing we’d be disappointed about, the rugby we played. It’s such a good brand, it’s exciting, people are excited about it, they love it and want to see it.
"That’s the disappointing thing, it wasn’t us and how we’ve been playing for the last four or five years.
There was even further disappointment given Ireland surrendered a 19-game winning streak in Dublin, stretching back to 2021, in the process.
"Losing at home is always dreadful and we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t good enough and also that it just wasn’t us.
"It’s something we never want to do, especially with the fans that we got.
"It's always such a great atmosphere at the Aviva and it is very disappointing with the performance we put out.
"The people who know us know unfortunately it was one of those weeks but we’re ready to bounce back."
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