The floodlights will be beaming down at the Stade de France on Saturday night for what is arguably the pick of the matches this weekend, featuring Ireland taking on New Zealand in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Ireland have not put a foot wrong in this tournament and secured their place in the last eight by topping Pool B, while New Zealand rallied from an opening match loss to claim second place in Pool A.
Match preview
This marks the fourth consecutive time that Ireland have reached the last eight of the Rugby World Cup and the eighth time in their history, yet they have never made it to the final four on any of those occasions.
However, most would agree that this could be their year as they have turned out one of the best teams we have ever seen and are carrying the longest active winning streak of any nation in the competition, which now stands at an incredible 17 consecutive victories.
Ireland were one of the most fancied sides to lift the Webb Ellis Cup at the start of the competition, having secured the Grand Slam earlier this year when they went unbeaten in the Six Nations and dethroned Les Bleus in the process.
The Shamrocks made light work of Romania and Tonga in their first two matches of the tournament, but they cemented their place as serious contenders when they overcame the Springboks 13-8 in their third match of the competition.
Andy Farrell's side have been particularly good at maintaining ground control and pressuring opponents into penalties, and, with the ball, they employ powerful runners to drive opponents backwards, with Johnny Sexton at the heart of it all.
While Ireland head into the match as the clear favourites, underestimating the All Blacks rarely ends well, and Farrell's men will need to find a way to nullify their opponent's running threat for the entire 80 minutes, or they could fall at the quarter-final stage for the fifth time in a row.
While Ireland flexed their muscle in the battle of the Northern Hemisphere's elite earlier this year, New Zealand did likewise in the South to claim their third consecutive Rugby Championship title.
However, after scraping past the Wallabies and losing to the Springboks by a record margin at Twickenham during the warm-ups, some had written off the All Blacks as genuine contenders to win the coveted title for a fourth time at the start of the competition.
Losing to France 27-13 in the opening match of the tournament did not help much either, but that loss seemed to light the fire under the New Zealanders, and they have been rampant ever since.
Ian Foster's side bounced back with a 71-3 demolition of Namibia, followed by a massive 96-17 victory over Italy, before claiming the second spot in the group by trouncing Uruguay 73-0 last weekend at the Groupama Stadium.
With those three solid results in the bag, it is fair to say that Foster's side have all the momentum they could ask for coming into this blockbuster encounter, and it would take a brave soul to write them off from pulling off an against-the-odds victory in this one.
Ireland may have the recent record advantage over New Zealand, but the All Blacks have been the dominant side in this encounter over the years, losing only five times in the 36 meetings between these sides dating all the way back to 1905.
Ireland Rugby World Cup form:
- W
- W
- W
- W
Ireland form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
New Zealand Rugby World Cup form:
- L
- W
- W
- W
New Zealand form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
Ireland faced a setback this week as James Ryan has been ruled out due to a lingering hand injury, despite being included in the squad and featuring in the second half against Scotland last weekend.
However, Farrell also received some good news with Mack Hansen and James Lowe both being cleared as fit after overcoming a calf and eye injury respectively, and they will slot straight into the back three along with Hugo Keenan.
Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki maintain their positions in the centre, while Jamison Gibson-Park and captain Sexton form the halves pairing for Ireland.
Foster has made a big call in this match, opting to select Leicester Fainga'anuku ahead of Mark Telea on the wing, and he will join Beauden Barrett and Will Jordan as part of the back three.
Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane make up the centre pairing, Aaron Smith earns his 123rd Test cap at scrum-half, and Richie Mo'Unga takes his place at fly-half, making his 54th appearance for his country.
Returning from suspension, Ethan de Groot joins Codie Taylor and Tyrel Lomax in the front row, while Scott Barrett is chosen over Sam Whitelock at number five, with Brodie Retallick as his locking partner.
Ireland starting lineup: 15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Johnny Sexton (c), 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 8. Caelan Doris, 7. Josh van der Flier, 6. Peter O'Mahony, 5. Iain Henderson, 4. Tadhg Beirne, 3. Tadhg Furlong, 2. Dan Sheehan, 1. Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. David Kilcoyne, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Joe McCarthy, 20. Jack Conan, 21. Conor Murray, 22. Jack Crowley, 23. Jimmy O'Brien
New Zealand starting lineup: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Will Jordan, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Leicester Fainga'anuku, 10. Richie Mo'unga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Ardie Savea, 7. Sam Cane (c), 6. Shannon Frizell, 5. Scott Barrett, 4. Brodie Retallick, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 2. Codie Taylor, 1. Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 6. Dane Coles, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Fletcher Newell, 19. Samuel Whitelock, 20. Dalton Papali'i, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Damian McKenzie, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown
Head To Head
These rugby powerhouses have met 36 times since their inaugural encounter back in 1905. New Zealand have dominated the fixture, winning 30 times, while Ireland have won five and one match ended in a draw. The last meeting between these sides was played in July last year, and Ireland won the match 32-22.
We say: Ireland 28-21 New Zealand
This could easily end up being the match of the tournament, and the winner will certainly be expected to progress to the final. Ireland are in the best form we have ever seen, and while New Zealand will not make this easy, we are expecting the Shamrocks to bring their quarter-final hoodoo to an end this year. We say Ireland to win by less than 10.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
