Back in business: NZ open their 2012 season against the Irish
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New Zealand kick-start their reign as world champions when they host Ireland at the scene of the rugby nation's epic World Cup victory last year.
It's been seven long months since the men in black lifted the Webb Ellis trophy at Auckland's Eden Park, and Kiwi fans will accept nothing less than for their team to pick up where they left off - albeit in more convincing fashion - in the first of three Tests against the Irish.
There's always added pressure for any newly crowned world champions to perform, and the All Blacks will want to quash the theory that they're suffering from a RWC hangover by opening their 2012 account with a good win.
Under a new coaching setup headed by Steve Hansen, Sir Graham Henry's successor will also be in the hot seat to appease New Zealand's rugby-mad public that their beloved All Blacks are in safe hands.
Indeed, building a team to defend the Webb Ellis trophy in England in 2015 starts now and the 53-year-old Hansen has already made good by selecting a side blended with massive experience and young guns that have consistently stood up during the Super Rugby campaign.
Even though the rigours of a long Super Rugby season has taken its toll on a number of All Blacks with several star players already ruled out (Richard Kahui, Cory Jane, Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu etc), the depth of quality players in NZ has still allowed Hansen to pencil in a side to leave opposition quivering in their boots.
And certainly if history is anything to go by, All Blacks supporters have nothing to worry about. In 107 years of trying, Ireland have never managed to beat New Zealand, whilst the closest they've come to a win in the 24-Test rivalry was a 10-10 draw in Dublin in 1973.
But droughts are there to be broken - just ask the Scots - and Ireland will take plenty of heart from their Celtic cousins' first win on Australian soil since 1982. Don't be surprised if they're doing a similar rain dance to the one performed by Scotland in Newcastle... though come rain or shine, the Irish will have to be on top of their game when facing the world champs in their own back yard.
The last time Ireland played a Test against the All Blacks in the 'Land of the Long White Cloud', they were comprehensively beaten 66-28 in New Plymouth, where the visitors were outscored by their hosts nine tries to four. That was two years ago. The last time Ireland played at Eden Park, they beat the Wallabies in their RWC pool match and turned the tournament on its head. That was last year.
Fast forward a few months and Ireland return to New Zealand in 2012 with a forgettable Six Nations campaign under their belt, and missing some key players who are either retired (Denis Leamy and David Wallace) or injured (Paul O'Connell, Stephen Ferris and Tommy Bowe).
They will, however, be boosted with a squad built around Heineken Cup finalists Leinster and Ulster which make up the spine of the team. They've also been together on and off for virtually an entire year, whilst this All Blacks unit have had much less time together in the build-up to Saturday.
If anything, this will give under-fire coach Declan Kidney some hope as he looks to exploit some rust in the All Blacks machinery. With the noose getting tighter around his neck, Kidney is feeling the pinch to produce the goods ever since watching his side dumped out of the RWC by Wales in the quarter-finals.
Unlike his coaching counterpart, it's gone from bad to worse for the former Munster boss who has overseen Ireland slip to eighth spot in the IRB rankings due to a run of poor results and one feels a winless tour could spell the end of Kidney unless he has anything to do about it.
"We will see how we measure up. You have an excellent side there and we are under no illusions about the size of the task we're up against," he said.
"There's a belief that we can perform better than we have been."
Actions speak louder than words.
Players to watch:
For New Zealand: All eyes will be on how the uncapped trio of Julian Savea, Aaron Smith and Brodie Retallick get on in their first Test outing. Having barely put a foot wrong in Super Rugby, it was inevitable that the 21-year-old Savea would be handed a black jersey. The same can be said of young lock Retallick (also 21), who will add energy and enthusiasm behind a grizzled front row. Smith - noted for his slick passing - will be feeling the most pressure to produce the goods however, after it was felt Andy Ellis or TJ Perenara (both snubbed by the selectors) were better options at nine. But there's no better way of proving your doubters wrong with a solid performance, and the Highlanders halfback will be looking to do just that.
For Ireland: There will be a couple of new faces in Ireland's line-up too in the form of Munster wing Simon Zebo and Ulster prop Declan Fitzpatrick - the tighthead getting the nod after Mike Ross failed to recover from a hamstring strain. Of the new caps, Zebo is the most exciting and certainly has an eye for the try-line as seen in his breakthough season for Munster (12 tries in 23 games). If the 22-year old natural talent continues to threaten with ball in hand, then he should be a real handful for opposite number Zac Guildford.
Head to head: There's plenty of individual battles to whet the appetite, but perhaps the most evenly matched is in the second row. Dan Tuohy and Donnacha Ryan are two players coming off the back of superb seasons for their respective clubs. They're a completely untested combination but make tackles, hit rucks and secure line-out ball without fuss. New Zealand's Sam Whitelock and Retallick are bigger boys and aggressive ball-carriers, but the Irish pair can match them around the park.
Previous results:
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: Ireland will put up a brave fight, but it won't be enough to knock down the world champs at their Eden Park fortress. New Zealand by 10!
The teams:
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Zac Guildford, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Victor Vito, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Hika Elliot, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Keith Earls, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Dan Touhy, 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Donncha O'Callaghan, 19 Kevin McLaughlin, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Darren Cave.
Date: Saturday, June 9
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:35 (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)
By Dave Morris
Comments
johnthebean says...
An easy one for Ireland to open the series. The NZ selectors will be hiding their blushes as the inexperience of their debutantes conspires to put Ireland into a comfortable half-time advantage. The second-half NZ substitutions should make a game of it but Ireland to hold on for a deserved win, and to set up an interesting Test series against a chastened NZ.
Posted 13:53 08th June 2012
ciaran1792 says...
Yes we were hammerd last time in NZ, but this article fails to mention that Ireland played with 14 men for all but 10 minutes of that test . Heaslip was sent off for kneeing McCaw in the head the game was over at that point. Ireland will have to be smart and not give cheep position. They must retain the ball and keep it away from NZ. If the AB's don't have the ball they can't win. So Ireland will have to keep it if they are to stand a chance.
Posted 13:40 08th June 2012
bad_robot says...
@Carpelone - actually the haka was there before the national anthem. The whole anthem singing began in 1905 when NZ played Wales. The Welsh players and the crowd responded to the challenge by singing their national anthem.
So why do we continue to sing anthems before a match? Is it because its tradition? Respectful? What the crowd wants? And other teams would have a right to perform something else before a game - other island teams do it. Even Australia did a "dance" number once before a game. I am not sure what other challenges that countries historically laid down to their opposition.
I am pretty sure that we could come up with a few challenges for the home nations to throw down. In the performance arena alone, the English could do a morris dance, the Scots a fling etc. Ceremoniously - the leader of the Celts historically would parade before their troops before battle, talking themselves up with all their historical victories before challenging the opposition to one on one battle. This could prove quite the spectacle!
Posted 13:32 08th June 2012
black47 says...
Have a good listen to the ref mike on Saturday. All you'll hear is 'black 7, get out of there'. 'black 7 no hands'. 'black 7 you're on the wrong side , 'black 7 I've warned you already'. How McCaw is never sin binned amazes me. He must be taking a harry potter wand out of his pocket before each match and casting a spell on the ref to ignore what he's up to.
Posted 13:29 08th June 2012
Voice says...
This should be a cracker!! AB`s look their usual strong self. Guliford to score a brace. Dont think the Irish will last the full 80 and leak a few in the latter stages. AB`s by 15
Posted 13:17 08th June 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Earls Vs SBW. You can't say Kidney is risk averse with that selection. Criticism in this chain of Kidney is not consistent. It is a massive gamble but I like it. It reminds me of when England put Simpson Daniel vs Lomu, Baabaas. He made Lomu look like a donkey. It's a calculated gamble as Ireland have noone to contain SBW at 12. How does SBW cope with the smaller slippery attackers? Kidney will have researched that and will know there's no point spreading it wide vs NZ. Its a brave attacking decision. They'll be attacking AB 12 channel looking for gaps not head on ball carries to set up phases. Fast first phase breaks from 9, 10, 12, 13. It will be a great contest although the scoreboard might say Ireland weren't there.
Posted 12:22 08th June 2012
connaughtabu says...
To beat the New Zealanders one has to have complete self-belief and an unpredicted game plan, unless you are South Africa who have no fear of NZ and play their own physical style of rugby. The last 2 tests I saw in NZ (House of Pain) were France mesmerising the ABs with an exciting brand of rugby and SA pipping it in a tough one. Ireland unfortunately has neither the bulk of the Africans (as Kiwis frequently call SA) nor the self-confidence of the French, so I am not sure!
However, if the tight forwards can hold their own most of the time and if they attack the lineout area, one never knows - Sexton, O'Brien, and Kearney might be able to conjure up some magic. In my mind's eye, I can see Earls scoring the winning try! Foolish, perhaps, but we are allowed to dream.
Go Ireland!
Posted 12:02 08th June 2012
SACanuck says...
NZ by 16, the difference between the AB's and the rest is that they go out every game to win. They don't care if it is a minnow team or one of the top 3. They do not get over confident and think they deserve to win. They know they have to work hard for 81 minutes. They have the best mental preparation in the world and don't talk much before a game like all the rest. They do their talking on the field
Posted 11:40 08th June 2012
FISH says...
nz 60+ ireland...meh maybe 7 or 14 if they're lucky hahahahahahahahaha
Posted 11:39 08th June 2012
Jmanngod says...
Nigel Owens is a bit of a worry NH refs don't really understand the ruck very well and too often incorrectly favour the tighthead prop.Ireland's only real chance is the ref.
Posted 11:20 08th June 2012
trinats2 says...
Not enough islanders, Ireland by 4 !!!
Just kidding Kiwilad, NZ 34 - 12 IRE
Posted 11:17 08th June 2012
paddy91317 says...
rumours that O'Driscoll has been training all week at inside centre if true that will definitly sure up our defence Murray Sexton Drico (plus Earls has defended well at 13 all season) these are all strong defenders which takes pressure off our '7' so O'Brien can run at the all blacks instead of worrying about McCaw, if its wet that 9 10 12 will have an edge over Smith Carter and SBW as they would really rather a hard dry pitch. And Lets be honest here, if it is horrible weather even the AB's would rather have Kearney in there number 15 jersey over Dagg who too would rather a dry pitch
Posted 10:58 08th June 2012
tha_mai says...
leinsterblue - rain, but how about snow? The next test is in Christchurch, their maximum temp on Wednesday was 0.4C and most of this weekend's sport is cancelled - NZ and Ireland will cope I'm sure if it's like that on the 16th (lucky it's not those delicate flowers from across the Tasman!)
Posted 10:57 08th June 2012
Carpelone says...
New Zealand, by more than 20.
The added value in this squad is Daniel Carter, full stop. Without him, the mighty All Blacks struggle, with him, they can put 20 points difference on all teams on home soil.
I am convinced that Italy with DC would be 6N Champions.
Posted 10:21 08th June 2012
blametheref says...
BOD is the only player who has ever properly respected The Haka, when, just prior to Shouldergate, he plucked some grass and threw it to the wind. When asked why he did this gesture he said that when he visited a Maori chief he asked him what the appropriate response to The Haka was and he did what he was told by the Maori...Interesting to see if he does the gesture again
Posted 10:18 08th June 2012
Carpelone says...
As soon as the opponents agree, Haka should be there. Otherwise must be cancelled, unless the same stage is given to the other team.
But what would Argentina propose? A tango? And Italy?
BokAvenger has a point here, however I would turn it into a positive note. The popularity of the All Blacks helps raising the interest in rugby overall.
What do you think? Should we propose a Zulu's war dance too?
@ Kahui
Please do not issue cheap remarks on a whole country just bacause you can not control your rage.
Posted 10:17 08th June 2012
rugbylover says...
@Bokavenger.
A tad 'liverish' je pense. Too many sour grapes?
Posted 10:16 08th June 2012
deprop says...
Ireland by 12 (despite Murray)
Posted 10:10 08th June 2012
J_Hdk says...
One of the biggest problems Irelamd have generally is they only playi about 60 minutes of rugby. This is at club and international level. They typically spend 20 minutes of the game casually defending. The teams that have learned to spot when we have switched off beat us. Eg welsh teams.
And against teams like NZ or France you can't switch off for a minute or they will score.
don't expect ireland to win but would be hoping that they can keep them within 14..., otherwise there is very little point watching the rest of the series
Posted 10:04 08th June 2012
Chopper says...
Hey safehands,
BokAvenger does NOT speak for all Saffas - he has his own opinions, judge him on them please!
Posted 09:53 08th June 2012