Ireland flanker Tadhg Beirne admits that he still thinks of his side’s World Cup quarter-final loss to the All Blacks last year “quite regularly”.
On Friday night at the Aviva Stadium, the sides will meet for the first time since that Paris knock-out game.
And, while the last ten games between the pair have been evenly split with five wins each, New Zealand won not just the 2023 World Cup quarter-final, but also at the same stage in Japan four years prior.
“I still have nightmares about that game,” said Beirne, who will wear the Irish number six jersey in Dublin.
“Particularly if you are having a sleepless night, it can keep you up at night sometimes. I think that’s sport and they are the things you kind of have to live with.
“You have lost, live with disappointment for that. We lost that day and we can’t change it, but sometimes those moments just pop into your head and you can’t help it – what could have been.”
Ireland had their chances to win at the Stade de France 13 months ago, with hooker Ronan Kelleher notably halted over the line late on by a superb defensive intervention from centre Jordie Barrett.
“Look it is a game of inches at the end of the day and I think there is a few moments in that game where we have looked back and said ‘we could have done this’ and ‘we could have done that’ and I think it is just being better in the moment, being able to see things in the moment and take those opportunities,” added Beirne.
“If there is one thing we can be better at, it is just continue to try and see opportunities and take them.”