Ireland's national rugby team has been kicking since 1875, but after 30 Test matches with New Zealand, it had yet to top the three-time World Cup champion All Blacks, on home soil.
Until Saturday.
In a performance that rewrites more than a century of Irish Rugby history, Ireland used second-half heroics from Jacob Stockdale and an inspired Peter O'Mahony showcase to stun New Zealand at Aviva Stadium in Dublin and claim a 16-9 victory. With 11 points from Johnny Sexton, Joe Schmidt's group took a lead early and maintained momentum from there, igniting a Dublin crowd in what RTE called a near "carbon copy finish of (Ireland's) last-gasp defeat in 2013."
YES!#TeamOfUs #IREvNZL #GuinnessSeries #ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/mkT2wpkVsL
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) November 17, 2018
The monumental upset not only marked a historic loss for a team in the All Blacks that's won back-to-back world titles but gave Ireland just its second victory over New Zealand in 31 Test matches.
As Gerry Thornley wrote from Aviva Stadium for The Irish Times, the match was one that'll be talked about for ages:
From first minute to last, you couldn't take your eyes off it ... There was only one try, and amazingly, Ireland scored it, thereby keeping the All Blacks' famed running game tryless. So hats off to Andy Farrell and the 23 players who carried out such a monumentally, unflinching accurate defensive effort, pushing up hard, making their tackles, applying pressure on the breakdown – nobody more than Peter O'Mahony, who was immense for his hour on the pitch.
The Autumn International win instantly catapults Ireland into the international conversation regarding the world's best rugby teams. Even New Zealand captain Kieran Read has since admitted that Ireland was "too good" for the prestigious All Blacks to handle.
WOW! What support. What Supporters. What Noise! Thank You!#TeamOfUs #IREvNZL #GuinnessSeries #ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/dQMldCRKEe
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) November 17, 2018