Ireland have only beaten the All-Blacks three times in history.
US President Joe Biden congratulated the Ireland rugby squad via video call following their historic victory over New Zealand on Saturday (13 November).
The final score in the Aviva Stadium was 29-20, following a thrilling 80 minutes of rugby, which marked only the third Irish victory over the All-Blacks, all of which have come in the last five years.
President Biden was joined by his brother Jimmy, sister Val, and their partners as he called the team during their celebrations.
Jimmy playfully asked “how the hell did you do it without the Kearney brothers?”, in reference to the Bidens’ cousins Rob and Dave Kearney, who have both been regular members of the Irish squad for years.
Biden was quick to point out that he has been a long-time supporter of the team, and even brought them up on a recent trip to New Zealand.
“When I was down in New Zealand, not long ago, I was bragging about you guys, they nearly didn’t let me off the island!
“We are gigantic fans, and the three of us, when we were in law school, we played rugby but never like you guys”, he added.
Joe Biden and family congratulate the Ireland rugby team!#IRLvNZL pic.twitter.com/LqnS6x2OC9
— JJ Bowles (Limerick's Oldest Pub) (@jjbowlespub) November 14, 2021
Val offered a toast of champagne to the winning team, who broke out in cheers and chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A”.
The other side of the conversation.
Magic! pic.twitter.com/rrpVUQCD9C— JJ Bowles (Limerick's Oldest Pub) (@jjbowlespub) November 14, 2021
Biden shared his intention to visit the squad soon, requesting that they “don’t act like they don’t know him when he shows up”, and has offered to set up an opportunity for the team to visit the White House.
“Organise it through Rob!” chimed in Jimmy.
President Biden has regularly shared his pride in his Irish heritage, describing his accomplishments as “standing on the shoulders of sacrifices“.
