Rugby World Cup: “We must salute what Ireland has done”, greets Sam Cane, the captain of the All Blacks

Sam Cane, third row and captain of New Zealand after the 28-24 victory against Ireland in the quarter-final of the World Cup, on Sky Sports: “We are super happy. It was a crazy match, a standoff for 84... 83 minutes. We must salute what Ireland has done. They have been at the top of world rugby for two years, so we knew the challenge we would face tonight. I am very proud of the effort we put into our preparation this week and our ability to defend our line for more than 30 minutes of play at the end of the match. It was huge. What an atmosphere, what a match, what a tournament! I’m really happy that we can stay for another week or even several weeks! (On the temporary exclusions of two All Blacks players) Obviously, we don't want to play with 14, but we had to do it at one point... no, at two points in fact. The guys just dove a little too far. Our defense was incredible tonight. We managed to contain them for long periods and ultimately that's what allowed us to win the match. I can't wait to play the semi-final!”