A game Irish rugby fans have been waiting for 13 months to arrive.
Andy Farrell’s side begin a busy month on Friday night as they welcome New Zealand to Aviva Stadium, renewing what has become a brilliant back and forth Test rivalry in recent years.
Since breaking their duck against the then-world champions in Chicago in 2016, Ireland have just about edged the head-to-head stakes; that win at Soldier Field is one of five victories for Ireland in their last nine games.
While Ireland have won the majority of the recent clashes, New Zealand have won when it mattered most, knocking Joe Schmidt and then Andy Farrell’s side out of the last two World Cups at the quarter-final stage.
Those two games have gone a long way towards heating up this rivalry, and there’s little love lost between the players. Peter O’Mahony and Sam Cane have reportedly had some verbal jousts on the pitch in previous meetings, while the build-up to this game has been dominated by the release of Johnny Sexton’s autobiography, in which he details the sledging he received from New Zealand’s Rieko Ioane after last year’s World Cup defeat.
Games against Argentina, Fiji and Australia are to follow this month, but for now attention is firmly fixed on righting the wrongs of the World Cup in 2023.
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ONLINE
We’ll have a live blog, match report, player ratings and post-game reaction from Aviva Stadium on rte.ie/sport.
RADIO
There will be live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1, with coverage getting under way at 8pm.
TV
The game will be live on Virgin Media and TNT Sports.
WEATHER
The mild weather conditions are continuing, with temperatures around 12C expected in Ballsbridge on Friday evening.
It’s set to be a cloudy evening with a small chance of rain, while winds of 10-15km/hr are forecast.
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The Ireland team shows four changes from last year’s World Cup meeting between the sides.
The most obvious of those comes at out-half, where Jack Crowley is now the man in the 10 shirt following the retirement of Johnny Sexton – although the former Ireland captain has returned in a part-time coaching role.
The rest of the backline is unchanged from that night at Stade de France. Jamison Gibson-Park and Mack Hansen are fit again, having missed the summer tour of South Africa due to injury, and come back into the starting side, while Hugo Keenan also returns after his summer with the Ireland Sevens team, taking the place of Jamie Osborne who drops to the bench.
Up front, the coaching staff have been dealt with mixed news. Rónan Kelleher and Rob Herring have both been cleared to play following injuries, with Kelleher getting the start at the Aviva on Friday.
Unfortunately, Ireland will have to do without Tadhg Furlong who is missing due to injury, as the experienced Finlay Bealham comes into the 3 shirt, with Tom O’Toole providing cover off the bench.
The rest of the pack is unchanged from the group that started against South Africa in Ireland’s second Test in Durban this summer, with Tadhg Beirne moving to the back row, which accommodates both James Ryan and Joe McCarthy at lock.
There’s a real mix of experience on the bench. For O’Toole, Ciarán Frawley and Osborne, it’s a first experience against the All Blacks, although Andy Farrell does have some seasoned campaigners to call on, with Cian Healy, O’Mahony and Conor Murray all above 100 Ireland caps, and Iain Henderson and Rob Herring also established veterans.
The All Blacks have seen a much greater turnover in the last 12 months, most notably with Scott Robertson now in as head coach, replacing Ian Foster.
On the pitch there has also been considerable change. Second rows Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock have both retired, while scrum-half Aaron Smith has finished his Test career, and Richie Mo’unga and Leicester Faingaanuku are both currently playing their rugby outside of New Zealand, making them unavailable for selection.
With so much transition, it’s naturally been an inconsistent season for New Zealand.
After grinding their way to two wins against England in the summer, they had a disappointing third place finish in the Rugby Championship, losing twice to their big rivals South Africa, and also suffering a defeat at home against Argentina.
Robertson has made two changes from the side that started last week’s win against England, with both of those enforced after out-half Beauden Barrett and hooker Codie Taylor suffered concussions at Twickenham.
Damian McKenzie (above) comes in to start in the 10 shirt, while Asafo Aumua gets the nod at hooker.
There’s no place in the squad once again for Ethan de Groot. Normally their first choice loosehead, De Groot was left out of last week’s team due to an internal disciplinary issue, and remains surplus to requirements this week.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Ciarán Frawley, Jamie Osborne.
New Zealand: Will Jordan; Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima; Tamatai Willians, Asafo Aumua, Tyrel Lomax; Scott Barrett, Tupou Vaa’i; Wallace Sititi, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea
Replacements: George Bell, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Pasilio Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown, Stephen Perofeta
Referee: Nic Berry (AR)
Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach): “We want to constantly be up there competing with the best so if that’s not motivation within itself.
“I mean, playing against the All Blacks has always brought that edge to any type of game. This is a top level Test match that everybody wants to be involved in.”
Scott Robertson (New Zealand head coach): “You look over all [Ireland’s] Test matches over the last year, you look at the strength of their teams and the players in the group and they they can hold the ball and they can put pressure on you with the kick game, you know they’re on the top of the world.
“They are a pretty handy team, aren’t they? You respect all the parts of their game and you look for opportunities.”
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Ireland 24-28 New Zealand – Stade de France, Paris (14 October 2023)
New Zealand 22-32 Ireland – Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (16 July 2022)
New Zealand 12-23 Ireland – Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (9 July 2022)
New Zealand 42-19 Ireland – Eden Park, Auckland (2 July 2022)
Ireland 29-20 New Zealand – Aviva Stadium, Dublin (13 November 2021)
Friday’s game at the Aviva kicks off a packed weekend in the Autumn Nations Series, with five other Tier 1 fixtures across Saturday and Sunday.
The big game of the day on Saturday sees England host Australia at 3.10pm, and that’s followed by the meeting of Italy and Argentina in Udine at 5.40pm. The late kick-off on Saturday evening sees France host Japan in Paris, getting under way at 8.10pm.
There are two more games on Sunday, with Wales and Fiji kicking off in Cardiff at 1.40pm, while Scotland and South Africa cap off the weekend with a huge clash at Murrayfield at 4.10pm.