Ireland v All Blacks
Kick-off: 9:10am Sunday 2 November NZT
Soldier Field, Chicago
The All Blacks kick off their end-of-year tour back in a place they'd love to reclaim as their own. Nine years ago, at Soldier Field, Ireland created history with their first ever win in the fixture after 111 years of trying - on Sunday morning the two sides return in front of a sold out 62,000-strong crowd.
It will be Ireland's first test match since July, and even then it has been a disrupted season because that was an understrength side due to the main body of players and coach Andy Farrell being involved in the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks are coming off a Bledisloe Cup series win against the Wallabies, at the end of a Rugby Championship campaign that saw them win four tests and lose two.
Team lists
Ireland: 1. Andrew Porter, 2. Dan Sheehan (c), 3. Tadhg Furlong, 4. James Ryan, 5. Tadhg Beirne, 6. Ryan Baird, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Jack Conan, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park, 10. Jack Crowley, 11. James Lowe, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 13. Garry Ringrose, 14. Tommy O'Brien, 15. Jamie Osborne
Bench: 16. Ronan Kelleher, 17. Paddy McCarthy, 18. Finlay Bealham, 19. Iain Henderson, 20. Caelan Doris, 21. Craig Casey, 22. Sam Prendergast, 23. Bundee Aki
All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett (c), 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Simon Parker, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Peter Lakai, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Leroy Carter, 15. Will Jordan
Bench: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Josh Lord, 20. Wallace Sititi, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Leicester Fainga'anuku, 23. Damian McKenzie
Ireland selections
Farrell has sprung a slight surprise by opting for Stuart McCloskey at centre over Bundee Aki, with the thinking being Aki is carrying a slight injury. Jack Crowley gets the nod at first five, with the rest of the side being now mostly familiar names to New Zealanders thanks to the Irish side's high profile matches against the All Blacks lately. Dan Sheehan will captain Ireland for the second time at Soldier Field, while Leinster prop Paddy McCarthy is in line for his test debut off the bench.
All Black selections
Beauden Barrett and Caleb Clarke return to the starting line up after missing the Perth Bledisloe Cup test with injury, that drops Damian McKenzie and Leicester Fainga'anuku to the bench. Josh Lord comes onto the bench as reserve lock; however Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland are fully capable of going the distance. Peter Lakai gets the nod over Wallace Sititi at number eight.
Key stats
After their breakthrough win in 2016, Ireland have tasted victory four more times, including an historic series win in New Zealand three years ago.
However, the All Blacks have won arguably the most important meeting since then, ending the Irish World Cup campaign in 2023 with a 28-24 win in the quarterfinals.
While the teams first met in 1905, they didn't play a test in New Zealand until 1976. It then took another 16 years for them to meet in New Zealand again. This will be the sixth time they have played in a neutral venue.
What they're saying
"Even if people think we're underdone slightly because of lack of game time, I don't believe that, I don't believe that. These lads are fit, the challenge is for them to be mentally sharp, to be ahead of the game." - Irish coach Andy Farrell.
"You always consider combinations, what we thought was best for this group. We know how putting our finishing side of a game is and the players picked themselves because they're in good form." - All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
The last time they met
All Blacks 23 - 13 Ireland
A far more convincing win than the 10 point margin suggests, the All Blacks took advantage of a really rusty Ireland in Dublin last year. Damian McKenzie played arguably his best test and kicked six penalties, as the All Blacks adjusted well and simplified their attack to take advantage of the strangely passive Irish defence.
What's going to happen
The talk during the week has mostly been around how Ireland is supposedly underdone and it's not hard to agree with that theory. That's not just because of the gap between tests, but also the motivation levels of the team given so many were Lions and that would have to be seen as the pinnacle event of the year.
The All Blacks would do well to utilise Beauden Barrett's kicking and brother Jordie's physicality in the midfield, as well as getting the ball to the in form Quinn Tupaea. The pack still needs to sort a couple of set piece issues but expect them to try and cause some headaches for Ireland off their own ball in that department.
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