Andrew Trimble may have just been appointed Ulster’s new skipper for their domestic campaign, but the Ireland star admits his thoughts are already turning towards taking down the All Blacks in the autumn.
After finishing third in last season’s RBS 6 Nations standings, Joe Schmidt’s men came close to pulling off a first ever series victory over South Africa this summer.
Schmidt is already plotting how best to take down his countrymen when they face them twice in the Autumn Internationals, hosting a two-day camp earlier this week.
And Trimble reckons the Men in Green will be in the best possible shape to beat New Zealand this time around, after coming as close as possible to doing so back in 2013 when they led at the Aviva Stadium going into the final minute.
“The All Blacks are a side that can play 10 different ways and they’re not a side that’s easy to prepare for,” the 31-year-old winger told the Irish Times.
“It’s an even more daunting task when you’ve got to play them twice, so it didn’t surprise me or any of the boys that there was a lot of homework squeezed into two days.
“And it’s really important that we go away and have thoughts on how we’re going to beat them and how we’re going about winning that game, approaching that game.
“It’s important that we have an appreciation of how good this team is, but as well as that they are just 15 guys on a pitch and it’s important that we know that if we perform as well as we can – as we did a few years ago when we did everything but beat them – who’s to say we can’t increase that performance level another one or two per cent?
“It’s good to have that balance. To be daunted or just to have the right amount of respect for your opposition but at the same time have a good level of self-belief and know how good we can potentially be.”
