Mike McCarthy says half of Ireland’s battle with New Zealand is already won because of victory in Chicago two weeks ago.
Joe Schmidt's men beat the All Blacks 40-29 in the USA, their first win over today's opposition in over a hundred years.
The Leinster second row, who has Ireland 19 caps, told RTÉ Radio 1’s Saturday Sport: “They’ve got the monkey off their backs, 111 years to not beat the All Blacks, it was great to see what happened in Chicago.
“That’s going to give them even more belief, massive belief.
“Half the battle of beating the All Blacks is to believe you can beat them.
“I was involved in the [last-gasp defeat] in 2013 so that was heartbreaking.
“It’s great to see the lads do it. Everyone’s talking about a backlash today but to be honest I think it’s going to be a very close game again.”
Watch Ireland v New Zealand (kick-off 5.30pm) live on RTÉ2, listen live on Radio 1's Saturday Sport and follow RTE Sport Online's live blog
