Scanning the front pages today, you might notice that there's significantly less coverage of Ireland beating New Zealand than there was when the rugby lads did the same 12 months ago.
Mick McCarthy's men came away with a 3-1 win over the All Whites last night but if you're hoping to fill your stocking with a DVD of the occasion, you best not hold your breath. While our rugby team's 2016 win over New Zealand spawned a
stage play and last November's repeat achievement will be spoken about for years to come, a win for our reserve side over the Kiwi soccer team was never going to truly capture the imagination of the sporting public.
There are a few reasons for that but mainly, defeating New Zealand in a football friendly doesn't exactly carry the same weight as beating the All Blacks on the rugby pitch. Deep down, most sports fans know that but it didn't stop the predictable gags filling up people's timelines after the final whistle at the Aviva last night.
https://twitter.com/emmetgrubb/status/1195123041388371974
https://twitter.com/Delssweeney/status/1195097767326232576
https://twitter.com/PaulMcKenna5/status/1195090597297762321
https://twitter.com/AHarte6/status/1195089833636638737
https://twitter.com/TCite92/status/1195093058796347392
https://twitter.com/Foley1Brian/status/1195236785112190977
https://twitter.com/Tokes1974/status/1195105503195607046
https://twitter.com/Kezziz/status/1195093978707873792
https://twitter.com/EunanDiver/status/1195026595544752128
After last night's not-so-epic victory, attention for Ireland's footballers now turns to the more important business of defeating Denmark on Monday night and sealing qualification for Euro 2020. Much of our fanbase are still hurting from the crushing 5-1 loss to the Danes back in 2017 so not only could we book ourselves a Dublin-based party next summer, we could also lay to rest the ghosts of one of the most miserable nights in our footballing history.
Now that's something that could dominate the front pages.
