Have Ireland 'poked the bear'? 5 New Zealand Test talking points
Ireland begin their three-match series against New Zealand on Saturday at a sold-out Eden Park in Auckland.
Andy Farrell’s in-form side have won 12 of their last 13 Tests, including victory over the All Blacks on home soil in November.
Here, the PA news agency picks out some of the major talking points.
Covid complications
Although Ireland lost wing Mack Hansen to a positive Covid-19 test, the hosts’ build-up has been more severely affected. All Blacks head coach Ian Foster and his assistants John Plumtree, Scott McLeod and Greg Feek have each been forced to isolate, while players David Havili, Jack Goodhue and Will Jordan will miss the game after contracting the virus. Foster was reduced to orchestrating plans remotely and joked that he was unsure if experiencing cold sweats and sleepless nights was down to illness or nerves. The 57-year-old expects to be fit to attend the match.
About Schmidt
New Zealand’s depleted coaching ranks led to an early call for Joe Schmidt. The 56-year-old was due to join the All Blacks setup following the tour but was fast-tracked to help with preparations. Schmidt has extensive insider knowledge of Irish rugby, having spent six years as national team coach – which culminated in a World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand in 2019 – following a previous stint with Leinster. Although he has had limited time to make an impact, his presence provides an intriguing sub-plot.
Records on the line
Head coach Farrell felt Ireland may have ‘poked the bear’ by defeating the All Blacks in Dublin last autumn. The Englishman is braced for a backlash following that stunning 29-20 victory, which was the Irish’s third in the past five meetings between the countries. Rival coach Foster described the display as the best opposition performance he had encountered. Yet Ireland have never defeated their hosts on New Zealand soil, losing all 12 fixtures played. Furthermore, the Kiwis have not been beaten at Eden Park since 1994 – an unbeaten run older than eight of the Irish matchday squad.
Bringing back the big guns
Farrell was left with plenty to ponder after an experimental Ireland team were outclassed by the Maori All Blacks in midweek. While only a warm-up fixture, the manner of the first-half performance in Hamilton – when the youthful visitors conceded four tries – was still cause for concern. Wing Keith Earls is the only player to retain a starting spot as Farrell turns to his senior men for the first meaningful match of the tour. New Zealand-born quartet Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Bundee Aki and Joey Carbery will each be involved, while the All Blacks’ selection includes a debut for Crusaders wideman Leicester Fainga’anuk.
Concussion concerns
Head injuries are back in the spotlight following the treatment of Jeremy Loughman against the Maoris. New Zealand Rugby admitted communication errors meant concussion rules were not fully adhered to after the Munster prop, who will not be involved this weekend, returned to the field despite struggling to stand after a collision. The governing body vowed to ensure protocols are properly followed for the remainder of Ireland’s tour. The extent of Cian Healy’s participation will also be of interest. Healy, who twice replaced Loughman, has made a rapid recovery from what was initially feared to be a serious leg injury to be named on the bench.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments