Sunday 20 November 2016 16:36, UK
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes the British and Irish Lions squad that travels to New Zealand next summer will be one of the strongest ever assembled.
New Zealand saw their record winning streak of 18 matches ended by Ireland in Chicago on November 5 but gained revenge on Saturday as they defeated Joe Schmidt's side 21-9 in a bruising encounter in Dublin.
Nevertheless, Ireland have shown that the gap between the All Blacks and the teams in the Northern Hemisphere is not as great as it appeared to be at last year's rugby World Cup, when all four semi-finalists were from the Southern Hemisphere.
Though Ireland fell short at the Aviva Stadium, they did put it up to the All Blacks, dominating possession and territory for much of the game.
Speaking after Saturday's Test, Hansen said: "I don't think it's told us anything we didn't already know (about the coming Lions series). It's going to be a hell of a battle.
"You combine four teams with all the talent that's up here and they're going to come at you with some heavy artillery and we will have to fire up and get the job done ourselves.
"The British and Irish Lions are going to be a really good side, probably one of the best sides they've ever sent down. I'm looking forward to it."
Though the All Blacks came into the November series riding an 18-Test winning streak, they did so while ushering in a host of new players.
New Zealand lost key players like Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Kevin Mealamu and Tony Woodcock to international retirement after winning the 2015 World Cup.
That has allowed new stars such as newly-crowned world player of the year Beauden Barrett and exciting 21-year-old centre Anton Liernert-Brown to emerge.
Hansen believes the two Tests against Ireland have given his players valuable insight into the style of rugby the Lions will adopt next summer.
"Well, we are a young side," Hansen said. "As everyone knows we lost a lot of experience after the World Cup.
"Northern Hemisphere rugby is different to Southern Hemisphere, it's a lot more non-compromising and physical, and very much a hard grind up front.
"The environment causes that, it's not always nice and dry and there's a bit of snow about occasionally, it creates a different animal and a different beast.
"The games aren't as free-flowing, you've got to grind them out and it's been good for this group to go through some of that and feel what that feels like, and then find an answer for it.
"I don't think there's any gap between the top team and you can go down eight or nine slots. If you have a bad day you are going get hurt. Ireland, England and France are good sides. Wales on their day can hurt you and Scotland have already shown what they can do.
"We can get carried away with the scoreboard at times but it's not really relevant because what happens one day doesn't necessarily happen the next. Everyone is striving to be better and that is great for the game of rugby.
"If we can have real competition among the top eight or nine teams in rugby then it's good for the supporters and it makes us all get better."
