{"id":535407,"date":"2026-07-20T16:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/535407\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:39:16","slug":"jack-conan-says-ireland-were-a-little-bit-soft-against-the-all-blacks-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/535407\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Conan says Ireland were \u2018a little bit soft\u2019 against the All Blacks \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jack Conan<\/a> experienced a gamut of emotions after Ireland\u2019s 40-21 defeat to New Zealand<\/a>. There was acute frustration with aspects of the performance and most definitely the result, as well as consolation in other parts of Ireland\u2019s display blended with a belief that this three-match tour will stand to them and optimism for next season.<\/p>\n

All of this was reflected in Conan\u2019s analysis of the game as he highlighted the positives and negatives in both Ireland\u2019s attack and defence. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the attack stuff was really good. Just the last pass, into touch, little knock-ons and the back-shoulder pass \u2013 we were just not as accurate as we needed to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think defensively, some of the sets were really good. Getting off the line, whacking people. But sometimes we were just a little bit soft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re also trying to play right around the ruck. If you lose a metre or even half a metre there, then just little pick-and-gos, they\u2019re getting on top of you, they\u2019re making inches, and you\u2019re backtracking. It\u2019s hard to get back on the line to win collisions. Some soft tries out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Irish number eight attributed this to the All Blacks winning more of the first-up collisions where, at times, he admitted Ireland \u201cjust weren\u2019t good enough\u201d, adding: \u201cThey didn\u2019t have enough back-end pressure to make them commit more numbers. They were playing on top of us a lot, which isn\u2019t good. So, frustrating. I\u2019m really disappointed, really disappointed.<\/p>\n

But, lurching back to the positives, he added: \u201cThe set-piece was in stark contrast to last week. It was a notable improvement, which is great from the lads. It was an area we really needed to work on. There\u2019d been a bit of pressure there the last while. We\u2019re glad that came good today. One or two bits didn\u2019t go our way. But most of the time, it was a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The build-up had centred around the All Blacks\u2019 32-year unbeaten record at Eden Park and the privileged opportunity which had been presented to this Irish team. But Conan rejected any idea that the occasion was a factor. <\/p>\n

\"JackJack Conan of Ireland is tackled against the All Blacks at Eden Park. Photograph: Phil Walter\/Getty <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak for anyone else. We framed it well during the week. It was an unbelievable opportunity. I think the chat in the week was really good about taking it head-on, just committing to it and attacking it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the occasion and all that is bulls**t really, isn\u2019t it? You can let that be an excuse if you want. I didn\u2019t think a whole lot about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conan was absolutely of the view that this tour will prove beneficial in the long run, pointing to the two preceding wins, and especially the comeback against Australia. There was also the experience which four hitherto uncapped players gained, notably Sean Jansen by adding a second cap against the All Blacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cDinny (Dan Sheehan) was captain for a tour, which has been great. I thought he was fantastic today. With Boggsy (Caelan Doris) to come back and Bairdo (Ryan Baird), Paddy (McCarthy) and Boyler (Jack Boyle), there\u2019s a lot of very good players that weren\u2019t here. So they\u2019ll come back in and add their log to the fire and we\u2019ll go again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conan is still going strong at 33 and save for withdrawing the day before the England game through illness, has been an ever-present through last season\u2019s Six Nations, starting all three Lions\u2019 Tests and in Ireland\u2019s other 11 matches this season. But he knows this has been a mixed bag of a season for Ireland, winning eight and losing four.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think with some of them, if you lose but you perform better, it\u2019s easier to take. There\u2019s a few of them there, obviously you look at South Africa in November, France in the Six Nations, they were the really disappointing ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just not at the level we should be, there were bits of it today, but it\u2019s international rugby, it\u2019s never easy. They\u2019re a good side there today.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for all the talk of the World Cup, Conan agreed there are plenty of prizes on offer between now and then.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will obviously have to do a lot of reflection when we come back in, well-rested and take the time off and make sure you\u2019re fresh for it. They\u2019re long years and they\u2019re getting longer, so you need to find the balance, especially at my age,\u201d he noted with a wry grin, \u201cof getting it right where you\u2019re feeling fresh and ready to go.<\/p>\n

\"Ireland'sIreland’s Jack Conan is tackled by New Zealand’s Codie Taylor. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all very privileged to be in this environment we\u2019re in right now. I don\u2019t think anyone in the last few weeks was in any way feeling that. It\u2019s been a long year, Lions, internationals, the lads were raring to go, so excited. It\u2019s unbelievable to be in Irish camp. The lads love it. I love it. I feel like it\u2019s the best set of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

His immediate priority, understandably, is not rugby though. <\/p>\n

\u201cGet home, see my girls\u201d, namely wife Ali and daughter Remi, and a well-earned and welcome five-and-a-half-week respite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited. Just take it easy. I\u2019m not going away. Go back and hang out with the family. It\u2019s been a long time apart.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Conan experienced a gamut of emotions after Ireland\u2019s 40-21 defeat to New Zealand. There was acute frustration…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535408,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[789,75357,263987,254352,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-535407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all-blacks","tag-ireland-rugby","tag-jack-conan","tag-nations-championship","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}