An increased physical approach from New Zealand to rescue the Test series against Ireland could have a negative impact on the All Blacks, according to Bernard Jackman.
Fresh from claiming their first ever win on New Zealand soil on Saturday, Andy Farrell's men head to Wellington looking to make it two on the bounce and claim the three-match series.
A try in either half from Andrew Porter was key to the 23-12 victory, where much of New Zealand’s problems were of their own making, as shocking indiscipline yielded a red card and two yellows.
After slumping to defeat in the opening two games of the tour, Ireland now are on the brink of an unlikely series victory and former Ireland and Leinster hooker believes the team must seize their opportunity.
"If they lose this Test series now, they will regret it massively, even though beating them once away from home is a remarkable achievement," he told 2fm’s Game On.
Jackman is expecting a huge response from the wounded All Blacks, and was casting his mind back to 2016 after Ireland claimed a first-ever win over the then world champions in Chicago.
The return game in Dublin saw a highly combative New Zealand exact revenge in a 21-9 victory, where Aaron Smith and Malakai Fekitoa were sin-binned while conceding 14 penalties overall.
Given the ill-discipline that marred the defeat in Dunedin, Jackman doesn’t think Ian Foster’s side can simply look to up the ante in the physical stakes to wrestle back the series.
"Normally how they react (to defeat) is violence, physicality and aggression. When Ireland beat them in Chicago in 2016, the return game in the Aviva Stadium, if it was being refereed by current laws, there would have been three or four red cards.
"I think they can’t go to violence as their tool next weekend because discipline cost them the second Test.
They can't just rely on physicality, they need to stay within the laws of the game
"The worrying thing from an All Blacks point of view is the narrative in New Zealand isn’t that 'we need to be more disciplined’, it’s that the referees were wrong and that cards shouldn’t decide Test matches.
"The reality is they got away with murder I think because certainly the tackle on Mack Hansen could easily have been a red. 100%, the pull-back on Garry Ringrose should have been a penalty try, so they can’t just rely on physicality, they need to stay within the laws of the game."
Follow our live blog on New Zealand Maori v Ireland on Tuesday from 8.05am on rte.ie/sport and on the RTÉ News App
Follow the final test, New Zealand v Ireland, via our live blog on Saturday at 8.05am on rte.ie/sport and on the RTÉ News App or listen to live radio coverage on RTÉ 2fm.
