Ireland will face a vastly different All Black team this time around
The All Blacks side that will face Ireland in the first test will not be anywhere near the same as the one that was beaten in Dublin by a dominant Ireland side last November.
On that day, New Zealand could not control the gain line as a clinical Irish team found themselves on top early. They whipped the ball wide as frequently as they liked and ran over the All Blacks all day long in a commanding performance that forced the visitors into 232 tackles.
Seven months is a long time in international rugby and the All Blacks will make wholesale changes to that losing side.
The starting halfback TJ Perenara, who was outplayed by Jamison Gibson-Park, is one casualty and will be missing from the All Blacks.
His service from the base of the ruck was not his best that day. Multiple times Anton Lienert-Brown rushed in to play halfback in a panicked frenzy, stepping over Perenara’s toes as the side couldn’t settle down and get into a flow early in the game.
Lienert-Brown will also not be on the field, having succumbed to injury, forcing the All Blacks to think up a new midfield.
The absence of Joe Moody will be another big difference. It might not seem like much, but when a player is off by five percent, it is significant.
The ever-reliable hard man was clearly not his best in last year’s test. Such are the demands of the global calendar, Moody was one of a few All Blacks walking off the line when on defence, pausing for a rest before the ball came his way on occasion.
He was slipping off multiple tackles less than a half hour in, a sign that not all was right.
Intensity and energy you bring off-the-ball at test level is a big difference maker. Some All Blacks were below their best in this aspect of play, and David Havili’s comments to media on Tuesday suggest there may have been a few tired bodies in that match.
If Moody was healthy, no doubt he would give a much better showing this time around, with next month’s test series coming earlier in the season. His injury will open the door for Crusaders teammate George Bower to take over at loosehead.
Furthermore, last year’s starting blindside flanker, Ethan Blackadder, is also out.
He put in an industrious performance that afternoon with plenty of work rate, but was lacking in effectiveness to help the All Blacks stop the Irish roll as the Kiwis made an insane amount of tackles without being able to turn over the ball.
Elsewhere, star first-five Beauden Barrett was gone after 20 minutes after suffering a concussion.
The Blues playmaker has played his way into vintage attacking form this season, rediscovering his sharp running game. Odds are he will resuming the starting role at No 10 in next Saturday’s first test in Auckland.
Then there are the new or returning faces.
Neither Leicester Fainga’anuku or Caleb Clarke were there last November, but they will present a tough ask to tackle as power options on the left wing.
The last time Ireland visited these shores, a young Julian Savea romped to a hat-trick on debut. History doesn’t repeat, but it does rhyme sometimes.
Jack Goodhue is fit and healthy and was back to some of his best form in the Crusaders’ Super Rugby Pacific final win over the Blues. Given his defensive ability at test level, he is a good chance of taking over the 13 jersey off Ioane to give the midfield some much needed experience in Lienert-Brown’s absence.
Aaron Smith is back at halfback and will presumably start with the explosive Folau Fakatava available to provide impact from the bench, while returning captain Sam Cane should start at No 7, forcing Dalton Papalii back to the bench.
That means many as seven new players will take over starting roles, and if you credit Mo’unga with having played most of the match last time after Barrett’s knock, that would make it eight.
Perhaps there will be more, depending on how the selectors want to play, but it will be a vastly different side – a better one – that Ireland will have to overcome to make history by beating the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time.
Ireland will bring maybe the best touring squad from Europe to visit New Zealand since Sir Clive Woodward’s 2003 England side, outside of the 2017 British & Irish Lions.
Although Andy Farrell’s team have not claimed a Six Nations title in the last two seasons, they have lost just three tests out of 15 in that timeframe.
Two of those three losses have been to France, currently the world’s best team, while the third loss to Wales came after an early red card to Peter O’Mahoney in the 2021 Six Nations.
Having won nine of their last 10 tests, including last November’s victory over the All Blacks, this Ireland team is in-form and playing an extremely proficient game with few weaknesses.
Ireland have a good chance to clinch at least one win on New Zealand soil over the All Blacks, and they have the players to do it, but they won’t be playing the same side from seven months ago.
They will face a younger All Black side that has been re-tooled to find something that has been missing, and we will find out if they have found it very shortly.
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments