Scrum-half Aaron Smith insists New Zealand are a completely different team to the one defeated by Ireland in 2022 and dismissed talk of revenge ahead of a mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final.
Ireland have enjoyed the upper hand in recent clashes with the formidable All Blacks, winning three of four meetings during the Andy Farrell era, including last summer's landmark 2-1 tour success.
"We’re at a World Cup, we’re playing in a final and it’s all on the line. History is history and history’s going to get created on Saturday and we’ll see who comes out on top." Yet three-time champions New Zealand hold the far superior World Cup record and condemned the Irish to a familiar last-eight exit with a thumping 46-14 win at the 2019 tournament in Japan .
An intriguing sub-plot is the presence of former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt among New Zealand’s coaching staff. "For us, trying to find those one per centers can be quite hard but with Joe he makes the view of the game a lot easier by the way he understands it.Smith added:"I agree with Rieko. He always has clips to show you if you ask, so you’ve got to be careful what you ask him because it could cost you 20 minutes!Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
España Últimas Noticias, España Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Brian O'Driscoll reels off three good reasons Ireland can beat New ZealandIreland, as Peter O'Mahony declared, have 'bigger fish to fry' but Brian O'Driscoll is confident this team have the right skillet.
Leer más »
Players’ injuries causing ‘big concern’ ahead of Ireland vs New ZealandDespite a confident win against Scotland last night, there are “big concerns” about the injuries sustained by several team members.
Leer más »
New Zealand secondrow Brodie Retallick not short of motivation for quarter-final against Ireland‘I don’t think you’d talk to any professional rugby player that likes getting beaten so it’s definitely motivational’
Leer más »
Ireland v New Zealand tickets as touts charge crazy prices for quarter-finalThe world number one and four sides will do battle at the Stade de France on Saturday night
Leer más »
Ireland are (marginal) favourites for a World Cup QF against New ZealandEverything Ireland have done under Andy Farrell has been building towards this challenge.
Leer más »
Ireland backed to beat New Zealand by former player and punditDonal Lenihan says Ireland's win over New Zealand last summer will have an impact
Leer más »