Donal Lenihan: Burning the Kiwis in the Cake Tin my 2022 highlight

I'll never forget Ireland finally winning a series in New Zealand.

JOB DONE: Ireland players, from left, Joey Carbery, Peter O'Mahony, James Lowe, Rob Herring, Ryan Baird, Andrew Porter, Cian Healy and Robbie Henshaw celebrate with the cup after the Steinlager Series match between the New Zealand and Ireland at Sky Stadium in Wellington. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

It may be another 10 months before we discover the true impact of a very special period in the history of Irish rugby, one I was privileged to witness up close, 11,575 miles from home, in far away New Zealand.

Regardless of what happens at the World Cup in France next year, those highly charged few days between the second test in Dunedin on July 9th and the decider a week later, across the Cook Straight in Wellington, not only provided my rugby highlight of 2022 but will stay with me forever.