Rob Kearney knows very well what an All Blacks backlash is like after he was on the receiving end of one in 2012.

The Irish fullback remembers when Ireland 'poked the bear' by almost beating the All Blacks in Christchurch, losing 22-19 in the second of three tests.

But what stays with him more is the chastening experience that followed, as the All Blacks ran out 60-0 winners in Hamilton in the third test to secure a 3-0 series victory.

Kearney, 30, has won 70 Irish caps since his debut in 2007, but that particular loss in New Zealand still eats away at the Leinster fullback, who recalls wishing he could stay in the sin bin after he was yellow carded.

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"The only thing I remember in that game is constantly being under our sticks. There was a try every few minutes at least. That was a tough night," Kearney told the Irish Times.

"I remember Roman Poite sin-binned me, it wasn't a yellow card, but I remember thinking, 'Jeez, I'd be happy enough just to stay here for the rest of the game'.

"It was an awful night and it just shows that if you poke the bear [you have to be prepared for the reaction].

Kearney said Ireland should have won in Christchurch, and he now expects an All Blacks response after beating them in Chicago for the first time ever.

"There was a backlash then and there'll be another one this week."

The two nations clash in Dublin on Sunday morning (NZ time) and Kearney says they know they can beat the world champions again because they've finally managed to pull it off after 111 years of trying.

"We'll take a huge amount of confidence from knowing there are areas we can improve on too," he told the Irish Times.

"There were times when we could have done things a hell of a lot better. Before we always believed we could beat them and, if we were on our day, we could match them."

"But, now we know. There is a difference. You do have a huge amount of belief, but you can never categorically say 100 per cent. Now, we know we can because we've done it."