New Zealand vs Ireland
2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final
Venue: Ajinomoto Stadium
Date: Saturday, 19 October, 2019
Kick-off: 11.15am BST
New Zealand will head into their 2019 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match against Ireland as firm favourites. While the all Blacks have dominated meetings between these two over the years (winning 28 of their 31 meetings), the Irish might take heart from the fat that both their wins over the All Blacks came in the last three years.
Steve Hansen has made a few changes to his squad with cross-code star Sonny Bill Williams was benched and fellow centre Ryan Crotty missing out completely.
In-form Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue got the nod for the defending champions in midfield, coach Steve Hansen saying it had been a tough proposition to sort out his centre combination.
“We’ve got 31 people available for selection. Every team you pick you look at the opposition, what you’re after and the midfield was no different,” Hansen said on Thursday.
They’ve done it before, so can they do it again? Ireland head into their quarter-final showdown against the All Blacks with recent history on their side. Two of the last three meetings between these giants have seen Joe Schmidt’s men emerge victorious – the first coming in Chicago three years ago, followed by the Dublin Test last year. For all their trials and tribulations at this Rugby World Cup, Ireland will know that this is mission possible.
More assuringly for Schmidt, 12 of those players who surged to glory at the Aviva Stadium 11 months ago take to the Tokyo turf this weekend. Conor Murray and centre Robbie Henshaw missed that encounter due to injury but both will be on hand this Saturday, with the Irish more or less operating at full strength – excluding Bundee Aki, whose red against Samoa has ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
So far, so good. But despite Ireland’s recent exploits against New Zealand, this World Cup has demonstrated that the men in green aren’t the side they were in 2016 or 2018. There are, of course, some qualities that have endured: the iron defence (Ireland have conceded just two tries at this tournament), the organisation and structure, the assured kicking game, the attacking prowess of the likes of Jacob Stockdale and Keith Earls.
But at times here in Japan, the side has felt like it's been missing something distinctively, well, Irish. The blooded aggression. The zip and fizz. The fear factor. In the win over Russia – despite the convincing 35-0 scoreline – there was no firebrand rugby, no fluency, no flair. It was laboured and error-strewn – and this against a team which, for 20 minutes of the match, was one man down.
You come down to having more people good enough to start than you have to leave out.
“In this case Ryan’s missed out. That doesn’t mean to say that if we’re fortunate enough to go further in the tournament that he won’t make the next team.
“But just for this game, we thought the combination of Jack, LB and Sonny was the one for us.”
New Zealand have almost looked like they have not hit their straps yet. Ireland, meanwhile, are battered, bruised and perhaps even slightly rattled after they were beaten by hosts Japan in the pool stages.
Robbie Henshaw will replace banned centre Bundee Aki for their World Cup quarter-final against defending champions New Zealand on Saturday.
Aki was banned for three games for a high tackle in Ireland’s final pool match against Samoa, his World Cup coming to an end after the Irish Rugby Football Union decided Thursday not to appeal the ban.
Coach Joe Schmidt named an otherwise strong side to take on the All Blacks, with Henshaw partnering Garry Ringrose in midfield.
“There are probably four or five, maybe half-a-dozen, reasonably tight selection decisions,” said Schmidt.
“You weigh up the experience, previous performances against particular opposition and combinations and you make a decision that is what you believe is the best informed you can make.
“We’ve tried to add up as best we can the combinations that will best serve us in this particular fixture.”
Hooker Rory Best will skipper the team, with Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong joining him in the front row.
New Zealand XV (15-1): Beauden Barrett; Sevu Reece, Jack Goodhue, Anton Lienert-Brown, George Bridge; Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read (capt), Sam Cane, Ardie Savea; Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick; Nepo Laulala, Cody Taylor, Joe Moody
Replacements: Dane Coles, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Angus Ta’avao, Scott Barrett, Matt Todd, TJ Perenara, Sonny Bill Williams, Jordie Barrett
Ireland XV (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; CJ Stander, Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony; James Ryan, Iain Henderson; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Beirne, Rhys Ruddock, Luke McGrath, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
New Zealand vs Ireland: Rugby World Cup kick-off time and prediction
Kick off time: Perfectly poised for a bit of lunch time indulgence with kick off at 12:15 SAST on Saturday, 19 October 2019. All the action is live on SuperSport 1.
For the RWC, we’ll be using a prediction algorithm from a New Zealand anorak.
Prediction: The algorithm tips the All Blacks to come out tops… but by a mere 15 points.
2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final
Venue: Ajinomoto Stadium
Date: Saturday, 19 October, 2019
Kick-off: 11.15am BST
New Zealand will head into their 2019 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match against Ireland as firm favourites. While the all Blacks have dominated meetings between these two over the years (winning 28 of their 31 meetings), the Irish might take heart from the fat that both their wins over the All Blacks came in the last three years.
Steve Hansen has made a few changes to his squad with cross-code star Sonny Bill Williams was benched and fellow centre Ryan Crotty missing out completely.
In-form Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue got the nod for the defending champions in midfield, coach Steve Hansen saying it had been a tough proposition to sort out his centre combination.
“We’ve got 31 people available for selection. Every team you pick you look at the opposition, what you’re after and the midfield was no different,” Hansen said on Thursday.
They’ve done it before, so can they do it again? Ireland head into their quarter-final showdown against the All Blacks with recent history on their side. Two of the last three meetings between these giants have seen Joe Schmidt’s men emerge victorious – the first coming in Chicago three years ago, followed by the Dublin Test last year. For all their trials and tribulations at this Rugby World Cup, Ireland will know that this is mission possible.
More assuringly for Schmidt, 12 of those players who surged to glory at the Aviva Stadium 11 months ago take to the Tokyo turf this weekend. Conor Murray and centre Robbie Henshaw missed that encounter due to injury but both will be on hand this Saturday, with the Irish more or less operating at full strength – excluding Bundee Aki, whose red against Samoa has ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
So far, so good. But despite Ireland’s recent exploits against New Zealand, this World Cup has demonstrated that the men in green aren’t the side they were in 2016 or 2018. There are, of course, some qualities that have endured: the iron defence (Ireland have conceded just two tries at this tournament), the organisation and structure, the assured kicking game, the attacking prowess of the likes of Jacob Stockdale and Keith Earls.
But at times here in Japan, the side has felt like it's been missing something distinctively, well, Irish. The blooded aggression. The zip and fizz. The fear factor. In the win over Russia – despite the convincing 35-0 scoreline – there was no firebrand rugby, no fluency, no flair. It was laboured and error-strewn – and this against a team which, for 20 minutes of the match, was one man down.
You come down to having more people good enough to start than you have to leave out.
“In this case Ryan’s missed out. That doesn’t mean to say that if we’re fortunate enough to go further in the tournament that he won’t make the next team.
“But just for this game, we thought the combination of Jack, LB and Sonny was the one for us.”
New Zealand have almost looked like they have not hit their straps yet. Ireland, meanwhile, are battered, bruised and perhaps even slightly rattled after they were beaten by hosts Japan in the pool stages.
Robbie Henshaw will replace banned centre Bundee Aki for their World Cup quarter-final against defending champions New Zealand on Saturday.
Aki was banned for three games for a high tackle in Ireland’s final pool match against Samoa, his World Cup coming to an end after the Irish Rugby Football Union decided Thursday not to appeal the ban.
Coach Joe Schmidt named an otherwise strong side to take on the All Blacks, with Henshaw partnering Garry Ringrose in midfield.
“There are probably four or five, maybe half-a-dozen, reasonably tight selection decisions,” said Schmidt.
“You weigh up the experience, previous performances against particular opposition and combinations and you make a decision that is what you believe is the best informed you can make.
“We’ve tried to add up as best we can the combinations that will best serve us in this particular fixture.”
Hooker Rory Best will skipper the team, with Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong joining him in the front row.
New Zealand XV (15-1): Beauden Barrett; Sevu Reece, Jack Goodhue, Anton Lienert-Brown, George Bridge; Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read (capt), Sam Cane, Ardie Savea; Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick; Nepo Laulala, Cody Taylor, Joe Moody
Replacements: Dane Coles, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Angus Ta’avao, Scott Barrett, Matt Todd, TJ Perenara, Sonny Bill Williams, Jordie Barrett
Ireland XV (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; CJ Stander, Josh van der Flier, Peter O’Mahony; James Ryan, Iain Henderson; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Tadhg Beirne, Rhys Ruddock, Luke McGrath, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
New Zealand vs Ireland: Rugby World Cup kick-off time and prediction
Kick off time: Perfectly poised for a bit of lunch time indulgence with kick off at 12:15 SAST on Saturday, 19 October 2019. All the action is live on SuperSport 1.
For the RWC, we’ll be using a prediction algorithm from a New Zealand anorak.
Prediction: The algorithm tips the All Blacks to come out tops… but by a mere 15 points.
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