Heartbreak of All Blacks defeat drives Ireland on, says Tommy Bowe

Tommy Bowe believes Ireland’s heartbreaking defeat to New Zealand has inadvertently brought the feelgood factor into Irish rugby.

With Ireland on a nine-match winning streak, Bowe can trace the current resilience of the Irish side back to the painful experience at the end of Joe Schmidt’s third game in charge against New Zealand in November 2013.

“At the weekend, when France pulled it back and it could have been just that one score, they had us on the ropes. But we go back a lot to think about that All Blacks game. It plays still on my mind,” said Bowe.