Sunday 6 November 2016 13:25, UK
New Zealand have insisted that off-the-field requirements were not to blame for their 40-29 defeat to Ireland in Chicago.
The All Blacks' 18-game winning streak was brought to an abrupt halt by Ireland, but full-back Ben Smith was quick to reject any claims that it was due to a busy schedule which saw them spend a large chunk of the week satisfying sponsorship requirements.
"I think it's the same for both teams, that always happens in the week that you have things to do with promotional activities and things," Smith said. "I think the credit's got to go to Ireland, they put us under a lot of pressure. They scored some good tries and fully deserved the win."
Ireland recorded their first victory over New Zealand in 111 years after racing into a 30-8 lead. The back-to-back world champions fought back towards the end, but could not claw back the deficit.
All Blacks boss Steve Hansen remained philosophical after the shock defeat, praising the Irish for a solid performance.
"It's easy when you win, you give yourself a pat on the back," Hansen said. "But when you lose, you give yourself a wee uppercut, because there's things you've got to get better at.
"On the afternoon we got beaten by a side who were better than us."
In November 2013 New Zealand narrowly beat Ireland 24-22 at Dublin's Aviva Stadium after being down 22-7, but there was no repeat in Chicago.
Both sides meet again on November 19 and Smith feels changes will be needed in order to have no repeat of the 40-29 scoreline.
"We're playing them again in two weeks in Dublin, so we're going to have to make some adjustments and be better next week and the week after," Smith said.
