Sean Fitzpatrick says 'the boot is on the other foot' in All Blacks' quarter-final

Rugby World Cup winning All Black great Sean Fitzpatrick is cautiously optimistic about New Zealand’s chances against Ireland in the second quarter-final, but is under no illusions his home nation is not favoured to win the contest.

In an interview with Martin Devlin, Fitzpatrick was quick to address the elephant in the room and what he admitted was “not a good omen” for the All Blacks, recalling the last time the two spoke was in the build-up to 2019’s Rugby World Cup semi-final when New Zealand were eliminated by England.

To inspire some confidence to counteract any superstitious doubt that fact may provoke, the 92-time All Black was keen to explore some details that separate the two occasions.

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“Obviously they’re the number one ranked team in the world at the moment,” he said on The Platform. “I feel we know a lot more about them than we did about England in 2019.”

The optimism was kept in moderation as Fitzpatrick expressed his general thoughts on the match.

“I thought we’d got over that physicality issue we had, but then Twickenham rolls around five or six weeks ago and I think that shook us a bit. Since then, and I was at the opening (World Cup) game live, and I thought for 40, 50, 60 minutes that we played really well, had lots of opportunities in that first half, just didn’t take them.

“So, I’m really excited about the 23, that we’ve got everyone available. I said for us to have any chance of beating the Irish, we’re going to need our 23 best players available, and I think we’ve got that.

“We’re in with a real chance and we’re playing against the best, so the boot is on the other foot.”

Mark Telea is the only member of the All Blacks’ preferred starting XV unavailable for the clash, he is replaced by bulking winger Leicester Fainga’anuku.

The familiarity of the favourites tag has eluded the All Blacks since that Twickenham Test against the Springboks, but they are not the only ones heading into unchartered waters. If Ireland are to win the quarter-final, they will claim a semi-final birth for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.

In order for New Zealand to progress and condemn Irish fans to four more years of quarter-final jabs, Fitzpatrick says discipline is paramount.

“When we are at our best, everything operates. We don’t make mistakes, we don’t give away penalties, we just build pressure.

“You look at France and Ireland, that’s what they’ve been doing. They just build pressure, build pressure, don’t get any yellow cards, don’t get any red cards, and ultimately, the door opens.

“And, you’ve got to take your opportunities. The teams that have beaten the All Blacks take their opportunities, and that’s what we need to do. In that opening 20-30 minutes, we have just got to be so clinical.

“You think about that opening game against the French, we had opportunities, but we didn’t take those opportunities and it came back to bit us later in the game.”