Ireland shred all preconceived notions with victory over New Zealand

17 months ago, Ireland finished bottom of the Six Nations. They didn't even feature in the last World Cup. Now they look like a different animal.

MOMENT OF VICTORY: Ireland players, including Enya Breen and Aoife Dalton, celebrate at the final whistle of the WXV1 Pool match against New Zealand. Picture: Rich Lam/World Rugby via Sportsfile

There is a theory of evolution that scientists call punctuated equilibrium. It refers to periods of rapid change, where species change in the blink of an eye rather than in the slow, gradualised manner that came to be the accepted thinking.

Ireland’s women’s team seems to have morphed into something new and wonderful overnight, their 29-27 defeat of New Zealand’s world champions in the WXV1 competition in Vancouver rewriting their entire code and utterly shredding preconceived notions.