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‘We are never scared’: All Blacks full of ‘belief’ before Ireland quarter-final
In just a matter of days, the All Blacks will take on World No. 1 Ireland in one of the most highly anticipated Rugby World Cup quarterfinals ever.
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Ireland have never made it to the semi-finals. It’s a hoodoo or curse that has hung over their heads for decades, but as they look to bring a definitive end to this unwanted history the All Blacks stand in their way.
Thousands of travelling supporters will be in Ireland’s corner on Saturday in what will surely feel like a home game in Paris, but the All Blacks are the All Blacks after all.
But Andy Farrell’s Ireland have charged head-on at the All Blacks’ aura in the past and slain the beast. Ireland have won three of their last five meetings, including two Tests in New Zealand.
That unforgettable series triumph in New Zealand last year will echo throughout rugby history forever, but the past is the past and the All Blacks aren’t living in the fear of failure.
“We are never scared to lose,” centre Rieko Ioane told reporters on Tuesday. “If there are any questions in our belief, it is unwavering because we know what we have in this group. For myself, the fear of losing doesn’t ever cross my mind.
“On the motivation that this group has and the energy we thrive off of each other is motivation enough. We don’t like to take a glass-half-empty view on things.”
Knockout
11 - 12
Final
6 - 44
SF1
15 - 16
SF2
17 - 29
QF1
24 - 28
QF2
30 - 24
QF3
28 - 29
QF4
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Ireland stated their tour of New Zealand with a disappointing 32-17 defeat to the Maori All Blacks in Hamilton before suiting up for the first Test. That didn’t go much better.
The All Blacks stormed home with an emphatic 42-19 win in Auckland which had the rugby world talking. New Zealand, it seemed, were back to their devastating best.
But in a best-of-three series, the Irish bounced back with a historic nine-point win in Dunedin and finally a 10-point victory at Sky Stadium in the capital.
Ireland had beaten the All Blacks for the first time ever on New Zealand soil at Forsyth Barr Stadium and created more history with a series win a week later.
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“I think there is always going to be that hurt but this game on Saturday isn’t going to be about the emotion of last year,” Ioane added.
“It’s going to be about what we have built so far in this tournament… last year doesn’t matter when it comes to finals footy because the (best) team on the day will be the one (that wins).”
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments