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League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Josh van der Flier in Chicago in 2016.Dan Sheridan/INPHO 'I remember thinking, 'I don't know how we're going to lose'' Josh van der Flier won his third Ireland cap against the All Blacks in 2016. 6.01am, 29 Oct 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Chicago IT’S ALL A bit of a blur when Josh van der Flier thinks back to 2016 in Chicago. He was 23 at the time and had won his first two Ireland caps in that year’s Six Nations. Joe Schmidt named him on the bench for the clash with the All Blacks. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series that week, sending the city into frenzied celebrations. There were high emotions for Ireland as they got set to pay tribute to Anthony Foley, who had passed away only two months before. Van der Flier remembers sickening nerves in the build-up. But he also believed that Ireland could do it. “One thing that stood out to me, when Joe went through the meetings earlier in the week, the Monday and Tuesday meetings, and we were talking through the game plan and looking at New Zealand, I remember thinking, ‘Gosh, this game plan is so good, I don’t know how we’re going to lose,’” said van der Flier yesterday in Chicago. Advertisement Still, he had to address his anxiety ahead of the game in Soldier Field. He sat down with Ireland’s then sports psychologist, Enda McNulty, to get on top of a racing mind. “I remember him being really helpful in the lead-up to the game because he was kind of like, ‘What are you nervous about?’ “I was like, ‘Everything, tackling, every area of the game.’ “I had a good chat with him. He was like, ‘How long have you been tackling for?’ and I was like, ‘Well, since I was six or something.’ “He asked me: ‘How long have you passed for? For weeks like this, you just think of all that you’ve done, all the bank of work you’ve done.’ “And it was the same for the team. You kind of think of all you’ve done as an individual to get to that stage and just have confidence in that and just go out and play.” Van der Flier didn’t expect to be sprung from the bench as early as proved to be the case. Van der Flier at the SeatGeek Stadium yesterday.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO Jordi Murphy started at openside and scored a crucial maul try for Ireland before being forced off injured after 25 minutes. Van der Flier was ready to go. “Sometimes you’re kind of sitting on the bench and you’re just trying to relax or whatever, but I was so into the game,” he said. “I was standing up for everything that happened. I was giving it socks. I nearly lost my voice, shouting so much. “I came on quite early. Jordie did well, he scored a try and he was going well but then unfortunately hurt his knee and I got called on. But I was very pumped up to go on. I felt ready to go.” The rest is history. Nine years on, van der Flier can reflect on many more battles with the Kiwis. He was a replacement again two weeks later in Dublin when New Zealand came up with a powerful response. Related Reads The Kiwi welcome, dive bars, Murrays, and the Bear 'Jordie's time in Leinster served him well. He's given us good insights' Van der Flier has started all eight games against the All Blacks since 2016, building relationships with the likes of Ardie Savea, who he always has a chat with post-match. On Saturday, van der Flier and Ireland will look to end the Kiwis’ two-game winning streak in this fixture. Do they have that same belief as back in 2016? “There’s definitely a lot of confidence there,” said van der Flier. “I mean, it’s a good game plan and I think we have to back ourselves, we always try to anyway. “If we play to our best, we’ll stand a really good chance. New Zealand are obviously a brilliant team. “They’ve played some really good rugby over the last few weeks and years obviously and it’ll be very tough, but I think we’ll stand a good chance if we can play our game and play as well as we can.” Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'I remember thinking, 'I don't know how we're going to lose''”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'I remember thinking, 'I don't know how we're going to lose''”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. 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