Ex-Ulster star on Ireland’s historic win over All Blacks: ‘I didn’t put them on a pedestal… it was just playing old mates’

Jared Payne is tackled by Sam Cane during Ireland’s famous 2016 win

Growing up in Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island, Jared Payne was well aware of Ireland’s dismal record against the All Blacks. And, as he embarked on the early stages of his professional career, his dream was to ensure that record continued.

Little did he know that he would be part of the team that would actually end that record on one of the most historic days in Irish rugby in Chicago.