Ireland meet New Zealand on Friday at Lansdowne Road in a rematch of last year’s epic Rugby World Cup quarter-final which dashed Irish dreams of lifting the trophy.
The world number one side have bounced back from the devastating 28-24 defeat by retaining their Six Nations title and tying a two-Test series in South Africa.
The All Blacks finished second in the Rugby Championship, but come in to the game on the back of a victory over England last Saturday.
AFP Sport picks out three key things for the match:
Revenge? Forget it, says Farrell
They say revenge is a dish best served cold but whilst it might ring true for the Irish supporters and some of the players it is anything but for head coach Andy Farrell.
The 49-year-old Englishman swatted away suggestions a red mist would descend over his players eyes as they sought revenge.
The Irish matchday 23 will have 17 players from that quarter-final but the All Blacks just 10.
“It’s different,” said Farrell.
“Different coaching staff, a few different players, a long time ago, a new start for them.
“That’s so much in the distant past for us now.”
All Blacks wing Will Jordan, who has scored a try every time he has played against Ireland since his Test debut in November 2020, says time has moved on for them too.
“There’s been a decent change to the team that we had 12 months ago so it’s a bit of a clean slate in that regard,” said the 26-year-old, who has scored 36 tries in his 38 Tests.
All Blacks test for Doris’s captaincy
Caelan Doris has been outstanding since Farrell picked him early on in his tenure as coach and at 26 his reward is to be given the captaincy.
The No8 — considerably younger than the previous three captains Rory Best, Johnny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony — has already skippered Ireland with wins over Italy and South Africa.
He was sin-binned in the Sprinbgoks Test which is clearly one thing he does not want to repeat against the All Blacks.
Farrell said his lack of ego was a factor in promoting him and he has no doubts Doris can handle the pressure.
“He is unbelievably diligent in getting his own stuff right,” said Farrell.
“He’s very comfortable in his own skin.”
Aside from O’Mahony, who is on the bench, Doris has also had a word with Sexton.
“He’s like a sponge,” Farrell said of Doris.
Doris says Sexton and O’Mahony told him “very much to be yourself, find your own way”.
“The temptation can be to, oh he did this that way, I’m going to have to copy that.
“As you get more comfortable in the role you can do things a little bit more in your own way and find your own way a little bit.”
Fly-halves under pressure
Teams look to fly-halves to pull the strings, to be the puppet masters but both No 10s go into the match with question marks hanging over them.
Farrell has retained faith in Jack Crowley, who has been the first choice since Sexton hung up his boots after the quarter-final defeat to the All Blacks.
However, his form like that of his province Munster has been patchy this term.
“There’s a bit of credit there, isn’t there, with Jack,” said Farrell.
“Like a few players, not just at Munster but at other provinces where I’m sure form is something they’d like to be pushing a bit further.”
Former Ireland fullback Hugo MacNeill says Crowley has performed well but has yet to convince he can assume Sexton’s mantle permanently.
“The most useful service these November Tests can provide is to have an undisputed first choice fly-half at the end of it,” he told AFP.
The All Blacks have reverted to Damian McKenzie, who had been dropped to the replacements bench.
He returns as Beauden Barrett is undergoing a mandatory 12-day standdown period after failing a head injury assessment following the 24-22 win over England last Saturday.
McKenzie is a more flamboyant playmaker compared to the seasoned Barrett but that comes with risks attached.
“Ah, D-Mac is D-Mac, isn’t he?” said head coach Scott Robertson.
“You get a bit of everything from him, but when he’s on form, he’s world-class.”
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