IIn Ireland, we have a strange custom of thanking bus drivers when they stop at a bus stop. No one knows where or how it started, but this salute when exiting the door became widespread and continues to this day. So you're probably asking yourself, could Rieko Ioane have been in action when Ireland reached the quarter-finals in last year's World Cup, the last time these two teams met? At the time, Kiwis were driving buses. Perhaps he was asking Johnny Sexton to forget courtesy to Ireland's departing legend.
Not so, according to Mr. Sexton's explanation. This little toxic interaction between them hastened the progress of this match, even though the Irish flyhalf is currently only involved behind the scenes as the team's 10-a-side coach and is not on site for this match. is. Certainly, something will be up in the air.
“Hopefully, that's what everyone wants, right?” says Andy Farrell. “They want that too. That's what usually happens when the All Blacks come to town anyway. I've never seen a situation any different than that, so Irish rugby is in a good position. I think we all know that New Zealand are always a team to beat, so we hope to be as good as ever, if not better.”
Even without any additional factors, it all ended with Farrell securing a ticket to a match in South Africa, which has been his goal since a satisfying summer. New Zealand coach Scott Robertson would have allowed Aviva to spend more in his pre-tour budget.
Consider resource depletion. Team leaders Beauden Barrett and Cody Taylor were removed this week from a setup that looks unfinished, following the departures of Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga.
Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate the value of an away win in this game, which was the 12th test of the season after losing three of the opening four games. This is not just a transitional period for the Kiwis' new players and new coaching staff, but against the backdrop set by performance coach Sir Wayne Smith, to restore the Kiwis' aura through brave and attacking rugby. There needs to be room for error. That would not be the default position for New Zealand rugby.
Last weekend they were lucky to come out of Twickenham with that win, but with that luck they also got a glimpse of just how smooth the modified New Zealand car is. Consider how Ellis Genge empathizes with the wildebeest stranded in the Serengeti in the first half. The England loosehead was picked off, leaving his team with the scars of an experience that cost them seven points.
This was not Smith's example of managing chaos, but rather something between structure and improvisation. First they tweaked England's defense in the hopes of creating a potential victim – Genge was that man – secondly, how he was robbed was a matter of choice. A discussion took place between Barrett and Will Jordan.
If you were part of Friday night's Ireland squad, which did not include the injured Tadhg Furlong, you would be on high alert if you were left home alone like that. That's before you consider the number of bodies needed to deal with Mark Telea's heist.
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And if you've been monitoring injuries to hookers Ronan Kelleher and Rob Herring, you'll be concerned about the fitness of these two tanks post-injury. Ireland, on the other hand, have finally shifted Tajig Beirne to the short side, starting with the best back-row trio available and are otherwise well-equipped. New Zealand, with Wallace Sititi, Sam Cane and Ardie Savea at the back of the scrum, have also done reasonably well there.
Given the recent history of the match (Ireland have won three of the last five meetings), the relationship between the two countries has taken a different turn.
“Yeah, it's a healthy thing,” Farrell says of the change. “That's good. That's exactly what we want anyway. New Zealand may have felt they had to beat Ireland for a long time, but hopefully they can improve or improve on their best performance since Soldier Field. I think I saw it. [where Ireland were victorious in 2016]I hope they have a little more respect for us now. ”
Literally, when Ireland were mainly in the bait category against the All Blacks, Farrell was playing a different game. There was a time when the only challenging question Kiwis were asked after a match was to name an Irish player who had made their lives difficult. If it had been a bus journey, I doubt they would have known their opponents' stops. And no one stopped to say thank you.
