Over the past decade the All Blacks rivalry with Ireland has developed into one of the fiercest and most hotly contested in rugby.
The forward pack which ran out against Wales two weeks ago has been retained, with the front row of Joe Moody, Codie Taylor and Nepo Laulala. The second row is the experienced Samuel Whitelock, who will captain the side, and Brodie Retallick, while in the loose forwards, Ethan Blackadder is at blindside flanker, Dalton Papalii is at openside, while Ardie Savea is number eight.
Dane Coles comes in as reserve hooker, alongside fellow reserves: props Karl Tu’inukuafe and Tyrel Lomax, lock Tupou Vaa’i and loose forward Akira Ioane.
In the backs, TJ Perenara is at halfback, with Beauden Barrett at 10, while Anton Lienert-Brown moves to second five-eighth and Rieko Ioane is at centre. Sevu Reece is on the left wing, Will Jordan on the right and Jordie Barrett is at fullback. Halfback Finlay Christie, first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga and David Havili are the back reserves.
All Blacks Head Coach Ian Foster said: “We’ve had a great week here in Dublin. We travelled well from Italy and are back into our more traditional routine of hitting a town and then moving onto the next one. The weather has been great here and we’ve enjoyed training in those conditions and getting ready for what will be a massive occasion on Saturday.
RWC 2019 quarter-final was the last meeting which was won by New Zealand
“We obviously have objectives we want to get out of each training session and we feel we have done that well. The guys are focussed and we achieved what we wanted to achieve.
Speaking on the changes in the starting backline, Foster said: “That’s the way we finished the Welsh game, with Anton moving in, Rieko moving to centre and Sevu on the wing. It’s a little bit of a reward for that combination. We’ve been able to use this series of games and the time together to try different things and thought a little change there would be good for us. We’re also pretty excited at the impact that Finlay, David and Richie will have off the bench.”
Foster added: “We’ve watched Ireland’s development this year with interest, particularly through the latter part of the Six Nations and last week’s big win over Japan. They are certainly playing with confidence and ambition and represent a formidable challenge.
“We have no doubt what Saturday is going to bring at a full Aviva Stadium. It’s a big occasion, rugby is back to Dublin in terms of full grandstands, so we know what it’s going to mean here, and we want that kind of stage. It’s big and it’s exciting and is what motivates this team.”
New Zealand
- Joe Moody (55)
- Codie Taylor (65)
- Nepo Laulala (38)
- Brodie Retallick (90)
- Samuel Whitelock (130) – captain
- Ethan Blackadder (8)
- Dalton Papalii (11)
- Ardie Savea (57)
- TJ Perenara (77)
- Beauden Barrett (100)
- Sevu Reece (16)
- Anton Lienert-Brown (55)
- Rieko Ioane (45)
- Will Jordan (11)
- Jordie Barrett (34)
Replacements: - Dane Coles (78)
- Karl Tu’inukuafe (24)
- Tyrel Lomax (13)
- Tupou Vaa’i (10)
- Akira Ioane (11)
- Finlay Christie (5)
- Richie Mo’unga (30)
- David Havili (13)
Ireland
1. Andrew Porter (38) 2. Ronan Kelleher (14) 3. Tadhg Furlong (50) 4. Iain Henderson (64) 5. James Ryan (38) 6. Caelan Doris (10) 7. Josh van der Flier (33) 8. Jack Conan (21) 9. Jamison Gibson Park (11) 10. Johnny Sexton - captain (100) 11. James Lowe (7) 12. Bundee Aki (32) 13. Garry Ringrose (35) 14. Andrew Conway (26) 15. Hugo Keenan (14)
Reserves: 16. Rob Herring (22) 17. Cian Healy (110) 18. Finlay Bealham (17) 19. Tadhg Beirne (23) 20. Peter O’Mahony (77) 21. Conor Murray (90) 22. Joey Carbery (25) 23. Keith Earls (94)
Key facts
- The All Blacks and Ireland have played each other 32 times since 1905, with 29 wins to the All Blacks, two wins to Ireland and one draw. The last match between the two sides was the Rugby World Cup 2019 Quarter Final, which the All Blacks won 46-14.
- The All Blacks have scored a record 96 tries this season.
- Samuel Whitelock made his All Blacks debut from the bench against Ireland in New Plymouth in 2010 and scored two tries in 30 minutes. He scored his third against Ireland in Dublin later that year. Since that breakout season, he has scored three more tries.
All Blacks Tudor Northern Tour
All Blacks 104 USA 14
Saturday 23 October, FedExField, Greater Landover, MARYLAND 20785
All Blacks 54 Wales 16
Saturday 30 October, Principality Stadium, CARDIFF
All Blacks 47 Italy 9
Saturday 6 November, Stadio Olimpico, Viale dei Gladiatori, ROME
All Blacks vs Ireland
3.15PM GMT Saturday 13 November / 4.15AM Sunday 14 November NZT
Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Rd, Ballsbridge, DUBLIN 4
All Blacks vs France
9.00PM CET Saturday 20 November / 9.00AM Sunday 21 November NZT
Stade de France, 93200 Saint-Denis, PARIS
