IRELAND’S LATEST STOP on their summer tour of New Zealand was a visit to the area in Christchurch known as the ‘Red Zone’.

The team flew in from Auckland and were brought down to a section of the city which was torn apart by an earthquake in February 2011 ahead of their second of three Test matches with the All-Blacks.

It was an emotional return for Irish scrummaging coach Greg Feek, who lost a family friend to the quake.

It’s so long ago but it feels like it just happened for me,” Feek told the NZ Herald.

“Initially it was just another bus ride for the boys, but even just coming down Victoria St there, things started to kick in. It was pretty tough, the boys were pretty quiet.

For me Christchurch is special because of the people here and you just hope the city can get going again.”

Ireland, who play in Addington on Saturday, will be the first international team to take to the field in Christchurch since the devastating event last year.