News article – Style E 5979

…Neil Best on the attack during last Saturday’s 34-23 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks in Hamilton…

NEIL BEST: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

– HIS VIEWS ON THE DEFEAT –

“Coming close is coming close but you still lose so it’s disappointing.

“Coming in after being ahead at half time, and then coming out and scoring (for 23-15), we were thinking we could really beat these guys. We were close and we could still have beaten them. There were a few wee dodgy things – that try at the start, the try at the start of the second half. I think we were there or thereabouts.”

“It was enjoyable to play in in the sense that it was my third cap – playing against the best team in the world. I got five minutes on my debut against them in November. I enjoyed it (tonight), I didn’t enjoy the result but I enjoyed playing. I didn’t like coming off because, you know, I never like coming off. Hopefully we can look forward to next weekend and having another crack at them.”

– DID IRELAND BELIEVE THEY COULD WIN? –

“I’m not coming here to come second all the time. I don’t think it’s in anybody’s nature in our team, our management and anybody back home that supports us. We’re going against the best team in the world, you know that doesn’t really figure for us. They’re flesh and bones just like us so why shouldn’t we beat them?”

“If you look at our pack, there’s seven Munster men who just won the European Cup and myself. Their big mantra for the European Cup was ‘believe’ – so they’ve got it instilled in their brains and I think I’ve got it in mine. And if your pack performs and your pack fronts up, then you’re pretty much on to win the game.”

– ON A ‘MORAL’ VICTORY –

“It’s nice to make people proud but we still lost. I’m sure the supporters are disappointed, we’re disappointed. I’m getting more p*ssed off the more I talk about it actually. I was okay once I got showered but I’m starting to get p*ssed off now! We’ve got a week to rectify it. I don’t doubt the All Blacks are going to go back and look at the video and sort out what happened with them, and we’re going to do the same.

“It’s going to be a massive encounter next week – it’s probably going to be the biggest game.”

– ON NEW ZEALAND UPPING IT FOR THE SECOND TEST –

“That could happen but the flip side of the coin is we could go back, take a lot of confidence from how we performed (in this game) and step it up a notch, and why shouldn’t that happen?”

– ON HIS POST-MATCH ACTIVITIES –

“I don’t drink so I’ll just be watching videos, playing Sudoku, things like that. Being sensible!”

**Neil Best was talking to Radio Sport host Tony Veitch on Newstalk ZB.**

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