(AP) -- Ireland is No. 1.
"We were at home, and they were coming off a long series of games where they have travelled around the world a number of times. I thought the crowd were phenomenal. And that's a lot of things stacked in our favor," Schmidt said.
The blockbuster matchup of No. 1 and No. 2, the champions of each hemisphere, lived up to the hype. Ireland edged a heavy-duty first half, and in a more open second half produced a classic try and kept New Zealand tryless for the first time since last year's Lions tour.
At a highly charged Lansdowne Road, Ireland became the only team to beat New Zealand twice since the All Blacks won a second straight Rugby World Cup in 2015. The first time was in 2016 in Chicago, Ireland's first win over New Zealand in 111 years.
Even with that mental block gone, this victory was far more impressive: New Zealand was closer to full strength, and more aware of Ireland's threats.
But halftime arrived, and the All Blacks had conceded three Sexton penalties and almost two tries: Kearney's was disallowed when video revealed he knocked on trying to control the ball on the ground, and No. 8 CJ Stander was held up over the line.