Point to prove: Richie McCaw
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New Zealand will be keen to show that the scare which Ireland gave them last week was just that in Saturday's final Test in Hamilton.
The All Blacks have come in for plenty of criticism after their disappointing showing in Christchurch and although they have secured the series thanks to some late heroics from Dan Carter, New Zealand's rugby supporters will expect nothing less than a convincing win from last year's World Cup winners.
The Kiwis will gain some comfort from the result of their previous Test played against Ireland in Hamilton, in 2006, when they ran out 34-23 winners.
While Ireland deserve credit for last week's performance, the hosts seldom play poorly in successive matches and several of the men in black will be looking to restore their reputations after below par performances.
None more so than captain Richie McCaw, who will be the first to admit that he came off second best in his battle with Ireland openside flanker Sean O'Brien at the breakdowns.
McCaw, who will be starting for the 100th time in his illustrious 105-Test career, has always worn the number seven jersey but moves to number eight for the first time. It will be interesting to see how he fares at the base of the scrum in a combination with Chiefs duo Liam Messam and Sam Cane on the flanks.
An area of McCaw's game which let him down last week is his ball-handling - he made four knock-ons during the second half in Christchurch.
After coming close to matching their best ever result against the All Blacks (a 10-10 draw in Dublin in 1973) Ireland coach Declan Kidney and his charges have to start from scratch again this week.
The best thing for them to do is to forget about that result and start afresh. It will not be an easy task though - but then again it has never been for any country against New Zealand on their own turf. But the Irish will have plenty to build on as there were facets of last week's game in which they actually dominated their hosts.
Ireland's effort during the first half in Christchurch, especially in the tight exchanges, caught the All Blacks by surprise and if they can repeat that effort for 80 minutes they could pull of what has been impossible in 26 previous encounters.
Their task was made more difficult when seasoned stalwarts Gordon D'Arcy and Jamie Heaslip were sidelined through injury for this Test and much is expected of their replacements, Paddy Wallace and Peter O'Mahony.
This weekend's clash will be a momentous occasion for Brian O'Driscoll, who will equal former Springbok skipper John Smit's international record of 83 Tests as captain. It's the 82nd time that O'Driscoll has led Ireland with his other appearance as a Test captain coming as skipper to the British and Irish Lions in the infamous first Test against New Zealand in 2005.
Players to watch:
For New Zealand: New All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden has big boots to fill after he was named as Dan Carter's replacement. Carter was in sublime form in Auckland and Christchurch and there will be plenty of pressure on Cruden replicate those displays. What will help is the fact that he is playing in front of his home crowd, who have witnessed several commanding Super Rugby performances from Cruden for the Chiefs this year.
For Ireland: Ireland inside centre Paddy Wallace has been brought straight in as Gordon D'Arcy's replacement and must play a blinder to convince his detractors (who seem to be in the majority amongst Irish supporters) that he is a player of international standard. Wallace joined the squad earlier this week and will have to hit the ground running as his direct opponent - Sonny Bill Williams - will be out to impress after a subdued performance in Christchurch.
Head-to-head: The clash between Ireland's Sean O'Brien and Sam Cane of New Zealand for supremacy at the breakdowns will be an important factor in this match. Adding spice to this duel is the presence of the supreme forager, Richie McCaw, at number eight for the All Blacks. McCaw will also want to prove that he can do damage to Ireland's cause, irrespective of the number on his back, by making his presence felt in the tight-loose.
Previous results:
2012: Ireland lost 22-19 in Christchurch
2012: Ireland lost 42-10 in Auckland
2010: Ireland lost 38-18 at Aviva Stadium
2010: Ireland lost 66-28 in New Plymouth
2008: Ireland lost 3-22 at Croke Park
2008: Ireland lost 21-11 in Wellington
2006: Ireland lost 27-17 in Auckland
2006: Ireland lost 24-23 in Hamilton
2005: Ireland lost 7-45 at Lansdowne Road
2002: Ireland lost 40-8 in Auckland
2002: Ireland lost 15-6 in Dunedin
2001: Ireland lost 29-40 at Lansdowne Road
Prediction: Although this is not the strongest All Blacks side, they will do everything to protect their proud record of never having lost a Test to Ireland. Losing D'Arcy and particularly Heaslip will be a massive blow to the visitors and don't be surprised if they come up short again. New Zealand by eight points!
The teams:
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Richie McCaw (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Beauden Barrett, 22 Tamati Ellison.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Dan Tuohy, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Declan Fitzpatrick, 18 Donncha O'Callaghan, 19 Chris Henry, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Andrew Trimble.
Date: Saturday, June 23
Kick-off: 19:35 (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Venue: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Weather:Rain from afternoon, heavy at night. Northwesterly wind blowing. Min 9°C, Max 16°C
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Pascal Gauzere (France), James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)
by David Skippers
Comments
tha_mai says...
Motivation for BOD and O'Gara - both have played v NZ 12 times (11 for Ireland plus 1 B&I Lions), so 0-12.
Maybe tomorrow. No excuses if they can't, appears a weaker NZ team to me.
Posted 01:57 22nd June 2012
Wallaroo says...
The AB's will fire up for this one, Kiwi's by 15.
Posted 00:00 22nd June 2012
kid_diablo says...
could you imagine how confident we could be going into this test with ferris o'connel heaslip d'arcy and bowe, and nz with their current injuries? such a shame
Posted 23:28 21st June 2012
Carpelone says...
I hated seeing Ireland loosing last week. I would love them to succeed, I see a massive New Zealand win. Ireland have some difficulties in keeping high standards. NZ by 15+.
Posted 23:13 21st June 2012
ciaran1792 says...
Ireland didn't look nackerd last weeks in fact they looked annoyed I would expect Ireland to come out all guns blazing after last week. I think they will be mad for this one.
Posted 22:51 21st June 2012
curates_egg says...
Ireland has produced a handful of games of high intensity under Kidney but has never backed them up. It would be nice to think they would deliver a similar level this weekend...but the players must be knackered after a super long season.
The pack should still have 50-60 minutes in it at least but hard to think they could sustain the 80 minutes they delivered last week. Wallace is a big risk - although he performed well on the last tour to NZ. He can be a top distributor and good playmaker...but with Murray at 9, will he even get the chance? Surely, a better move would have been to put McFadden in the centre (where he plays), rather than persisting in playing him on the wing, where he is less comfortable. Earls and Trimble on the wings would be a good prospect. Murray upped his game last week but he still takes an age at the breakdown.
One day Ireland has to win though.
Posted 22:30 21st June 2012
three6three6 says...
We shall see just how strong the AB brand is this weekend.... The ABs will respond in the best manner that they know how - by giving their opponents a real lesson in playing 15 man rugby. Do not get me wrong... Ireland were close on the score board last time.... they also performed heroically in between kicking penalties.... but they are likely to face a differnt AB team on Saturday. There is no Dan Carter playing for the ABs BUT expect Aaron Cruden to step up.and play well - he has been in fine form for the Chiefs. We should also expect a better performance from the ABs forward pack.
Posted 22:14 21st June 2012
olepete says...
You talk about heroics from Dan Carter, but Ireland will realise that the real heroes were the 14 ABs who strung together 13 phases from the Irish 10-metre mark in the last few minutes and pushed Ireland back almost to their goal-line. Ireland should never have let that happen but it illustrates what character the ABs can show when they're up against it. Nevertheless, Ireland by 2 against this team.
Posted 21:40 21st June 2012
mrgoggins says...
Earls should be at inside centre and trimble on the wing... get wallace out of there!
Posted 20:57 21st June 2012
ImLaigheanIt says...
This is still a very strong All Blacks team, with a few in-form players from the table-topping Chiefs. Ireland had their golden chance last week and won't get another one on Saturday, IMO.
Mr Poite, I trust you'll police the scrum a little better than you did in the Pro12 final when you never saw the Ospreys front row failing to get its bind almost every time, then randomly started sinbinning Leinster players. Either way, I doubt the Irish team will get many favourable calls.
Posted 20:54 21st June 2012
Jmanngod says...
The clueless Romain Poite (ruck? no idea! - scrum? no idea) to have the major impact on this game. Why are the World Champions not getting the benefit of the higher level SH refs?
Posted 20:17 21st June 2012
Lucasrg says...
for once...go Ireland!!!!
Posted 19:29 21st June 2012
marko72 says...
Poite in the middle, nz never losing to Ireland in 26 games, Ireland knackered and facing a nz team angered over their performance last week, in nz..... I like them odds!
Posted 19:17 21st June 2012