The last time an Ireland team faced New Zealand, they were hammered 46-14 in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Johnny Sexton, Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, James Ryan, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Furlong, Keith Earls, Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Beirne, and Joey Carbery were all involved that day in Tokyo. They know what the All Blacks can do to you when you make errors.
But a fair chunk of this Ireland squad – Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Andrew Conway, Rónan Kelleher, and Rob Herring – have never faced the Kiwis in a senior Test before.
While Ireland have some momentum from their wins over England in March and the thrashing of Japan last weekend, things go up a notch this afternoon [KO 3.15pm, RTÉ].
Taking on the All Blacks has long been renowned as the toughest challenge in the game and Ireland’s lives were made slightly more difficult by yesterday’s Covid-related disruption.
Henderson and Herring spent several hours isolating from the rest of the squad after what turned out to be a false positive Covid-19 test, meaning they missed the captain’s run at the Aviva Stadium, but the all-clear came through last night.
“It’s not going to be something we’re going to look for as a reason or excuse,” insisted assistant coach Simon Easterby.
It would have been cruel for either player to be denied the chance to feature as Ireland attempt to add to their 2016 and 2018 wins over the Kiwis.
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Beauden Barrett is preferred to Richie Mo'unga. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
The All Blacks have been able to select their strongest possible team with the exception of scrum-half Aaron Smith, a late arrival on tour after remaining at home for the birth of his child.
Ian Foster’s have an array of attacking, defensive, and set-piece qualities, as well as the luxury of a bench offering dynamic impact, including out-half Richie Mo’unga who missed out on a place in the starting XV to Beauden Barrett.
“He’s electric,” said Easterby of Barrett, who recently hit the 100-cap mark at the age of 30. “Off the mark, he has the ability to challenge the gainline but also the ability to put the ball through on the boot, to shift it. He has a multi-faceted game. Either 10 in that position doesn’t really weaken them very much.”
The threats are everywhere with nearly all of the All Blacks’ forwards capable of passing accurately, beating defenders, and also being direct with their ball-carrying.
With a backline jam-packed with try-scoring talents like Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, and Sevu Reece – who signed for Connacht in 2018 but saw his deal cancelled after a domestic violence incident – as well as the rounded skillsets of Jordie Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown, this is the toughest defensive test in the game.
“Our challenge is to make sure that we look after our own ball and do that well so they don’t get opportunities off unstructured play – make sure we kick at the right times and we don’t put ourselves under pressure,” said Easterby.
The Kiwis also have good insider knowledge on Ireland through scrum coach Greg Feek, who joined them last year after a decade working on these shores.
Ireland boss Farrell has opted for a very settled team after last weekend’s 60-5 hammering of Japan, Henderson coming in for Beirne in the only change.
Gibson-Park is rewarded for his sharp performance at scrum-half against the Japanese, while Lowe gets a chance to show that he has made defensive progress to go along with his undoubted attacking qualities.
Ireland are confident Lowe can make a big impact. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
“We’ve seen a lot of growth in James,” said Easterby. “He went away and worked hard on that side of his game with Leinster and he has come back in confident.
“He has a real point of difference in his attack but his defensive game is starting to catch up and that’s down to his hard work, the work he has put in with the coaches at Leinster and the work he does with us when he’s in with us in camp.”
The All Blacks will look to test that defensive growth and Ireland will need to hit a new peak for 2021 to win today.
There has understandably been great excitement about their attacking performance last weekend against Japan when there were real signs of the direction in which Farrell and attack coach Mike Catt are pushing this side, but there will be fewer opportunities today.
That said, some Ireland fans would be happy enough if Ireland play well and show more of the same attacking intent, even if they don’t win.
But those in a packed-out Aviva Stadium today will be baying for All Blacks blood, willing Farrell’s Ireland to overcome their status as 12-point underdogs and provide another memorable day against New Zealand.
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New ground for Farrell's Ireland against world number one All Blacks
IT’S NEW GROUND for Andy Farrell’s Ireland today.
The last time an Ireland team faced New Zealand, they were hammered 46-14 in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Johnny Sexton, Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, James Ryan, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Furlong, Keith Earls, Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Beirne, and Joey Carbery were all involved that day in Tokyo. They know what the All Blacks can do to you when you make errors.
But a fair chunk of this Ireland squad – Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, Andrew Conway, Rónan Kelleher, and Rob Herring – have never faced the Kiwis in a senior Test before.
While Ireland have some momentum from their wins over England in March and the thrashing of Japan last weekend, things go up a notch this afternoon [KO 3.15pm, RTÉ].
Taking on the All Blacks has long been renowned as the toughest challenge in the game and Ireland’s lives were made slightly more difficult by yesterday’s Covid-related disruption.
Henderson and Herring spent several hours isolating from the rest of the squad after what turned out to be a false positive Covid-19 test, meaning they missed the captain’s run at the Aviva Stadium, but the all-clear came through last night.
“It’s not going to be something we’re going to look for as a reason or excuse,” insisted assistant coach Simon Easterby.
It would have been cruel for either player to be denied the chance to feature as Ireland attempt to add to their 2016 and 2018 wins over the Kiwis.
The All Blacks have been able to select their strongest possible team with the exception of scrum-half Aaron Smith, a late arrival on tour after remaining at home for the birth of his child.
Ian Foster’s have an array of attacking, defensive, and set-piece qualities, as well as the luxury of a bench offering dynamic impact, including out-half Richie Mo’unga who missed out on a place in the starting XV to Beauden Barrett.
“He’s electric,” said Easterby of Barrett, who recently hit the 100-cap mark at the age of 30. “Off the mark, he has the ability to challenge the gainline but also the ability to put the ball through on the boot, to shift it. He has a multi-faceted game. Either 10 in that position doesn’t really weaken them very much.”
The threats are everywhere with nearly all of the All Blacks’ forwards capable of passing accurately, beating defenders, and also being direct with their ball-carrying.
With a backline jam-packed with try-scoring talents like Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, and Sevu Reece – who signed for Connacht in 2018 but saw his deal cancelled after a domestic violence incident – as well as the rounded skillsets of Jordie Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown, this is the toughest defensive test in the game.
“Our challenge is to make sure that we look after our own ball and do that well so they don’t get opportunities off unstructured play – make sure we kick at the right times and we don’t put ourselves under pressure,” said Easterby.
The Kiwis also have good insider knowledge on Ireland through scrum coach Greg Feek, who joined them last year after a decade working on these shores.
Ireland boss Farrell has opted for a very settled team after last weekend’s 60-5 hammering of Japan, Henderson coming in for Beirne in the only change.
Gibson-Park is rewarded for his sharp performance at scrum-half against the Japanese, while Lowe gets a chance to show that he has made defensive progress to go along with his undoubted attacking qualities.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth in James,” said Easterby. “He went away and worked hard on that side of his game with Leinster and he has come back in confident.
“He has a real point of difference in his attack but his defensive game is starting to catch up and that’s down to his hard work, the work he has put in with the coaches at Leinster and the work he does with us when he’s in with us in camp.”
The All Blacks will look to test that defensive growth and Ireland will need to hit a new peak for 2021 to win today.
There has understandably been great excitement about their attacking performance last weekend against Japan when there were real signs of the direction in which Farrell and attack coach Mike Catt are pushing this side, but there will be fewer opportunities today.
That said, some Ireland fans would be happy enough if Ireland play well and show more of the same attacking intent, even if they don’t win.
But those in a packed-out Aviva Stadium today will be baying for All Blacks blood, willing Farrell’s Ireland to overcome their status as 12-point underdogs and provide another memorable day against New Zealand.
Ireland:
Replacements:
New Zealand:
Replacements
Referee: Luke Pearce [RFU].
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All Blacks Autumn nations Series Aviva Stadium Ireland Next Level Preview