Oliver full of praise for All Blacks resolve
November 17, 2001

New Zealand captain Anton Oliver admitted Ireland took his team by surprise in a blistering first half of a match the All Blacks eventually won 40-29.

A Kevin Maggs try and 11 points from the boot of David Humphreys put the home side in a 16-7 interval lead at Lansdowne Road, although Chris Jack's touchdown for the All Blacks signalled the visitors' intent not to give in without a fight.

Oliver told BBC's Grandstand: "We weren't playing that poorly, but little things were letting us down. The Irish came out really strong."

But Oliver was full of praise for the way his side battled back.

Leon MacDonald scored the second home try, but the All Blacks roared back with Reuben Thorne strolling over before Doug Howlett threw the game wide open.

Aaron Mauger scored the All Blacks' fourth try, Jonah Lomu added another and David Hewitt marked his debut with a touchdown.

Oliver said: "It took a lot of self-belief to stick at it. We got down on their 22 and we just needed to be patient. We didn't give away penalties in their 22.

"It's sad to leave a lot of good friends at home, but these new guys have stepped up and they are All Blacks now."

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