Ryan Tubridy's brother played a part in Ireland v New Zealand back in 1989

They say the sixteenth man can make the difference in rugby - and that was quite literally the case for Ireland when they took on the mighty All Blacks in 1989.

Ryan Tubridy's brother played a part in Ireland v New Zealand back in 1989

By Joe Leogue

They say the sixteenth man can make the difference in rugby - and that was quite literally the case for Ireland when they took on the mighty All Blacks in 1989.

With New Zealand in town to take on Joe Schmidt’s charges on Saturday, thoughts have turned to previous encounters between the two teams, and footage of a peculiar incident almost 30 years ago has gone viral online.

The setting was Lansdowne Road, and Ireland had a lineout deep in their own territory.

However, unbeknownst to the referee, the touch judge on the far sideline had spotted an earlier infringement and had raised his flag.

Play continued, regardless. Ireland won the line-out but coughed up possession and Grant Fox ran in a try for the All Blacks as boos rang around the stadium.

Those jeers turned to cheers, however, when a thirteen-year-old ball boy raced across the pitch to bring the referee’s attention to the raised flag on the sideline.

Interviewed after the game, the boy said he had asked the touch judge why he didn’t enter the field of play to inform the referee of the mistake.

"The touch judge said 'no, I can't do that'.

"Well, one of the people in the crowd said to me, go on yourself, go over to him and tell him," the boy said.

The video of the incident was widely shared online this week, and recalled by Ryan Tubridy on his radio show yesterday - where he revealed his own connection to the tale.

"Now, why do I have such an interest in that story? And why would I be so proud of that ball boy? And why would I want to share that story with you?" Ryan asked listeners.

"Because that ball boy is my brother, Garrett. And Garrett Tubridy was really into rugby as a kid."

"I just think it's a really cute story and it's gone wild online. And Garrett's now a man. A very good man.

"And he ended up running the Women's Rugby World Cup last year and doing very well, as it turns out. So it was always meant to be,” he said.

Keith Quinn, the New Zealand commentator from the footage yesterday tweeted a picture of the letter he received from Garrett, thanking him for posting him a videotape of the game.

"After the interview on November 18, I did not think I would hear or see of it again and the last thing I thought would happen was that you would send it back to me," the 13-year-old Tubridy wrote.

Garrett replied thanking Keith for posting the letter.

“My spelling has improved since,” he joked.

Unfortunately, for Ireland, Garrett’s intervention did little to affect the outcome of the match; New Zealand ran out 23-6 winners on the day.

Ireland will play New Zealand again in a friendly this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.

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