Saturday’s third New Zealand-Ireland rugby clash might seem like a dead Test with the series secured for NZ, but the firey Irish came within moments of securing a famous victory in the second Test. Join us for live scores and blog from 5:35pm AEST of a big third Test.
The home side were stung after almost losing the second Test, and Ireland are desperate to secure their first victory over the All Blacks after coming so close in Christchurch.
This makes the Hamilton game is anything but a dead rubber.
“We were disappointed we didn’t perform as well as we did the week before, but we were up against an Irish team that were up a step,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we progress.”
McCaw admits there’s been an extra edge to training since the 22-19 scare in Christchurch.
“We thought we had a good week last week but, in hindsight, it didn’t have the same feel as the week before,” he said.
“It certainly put everyone’s feet firmly on the ground.”
The Irish players looked deflated in Christchurch after failing to get the win, but assistant coach Les Kiss says they’re ready to face a hungrier All Blacks side.
“We’ve looked to ramp up the areas that we thought we were good in, and make sure we cover some of the areas where we gave them easy possession.
“If we can get on top of those things, it’ll be a good game.”
Ireland have made three changes to their starting team and the All Blacks six, though both teams had their hand forced by injuries.
The injury to All Blacks five-eighth Dan Carter is on paper the most notable, but Aaron Cruden confidently filled in for him in the World Cup and No.8 Kieran Read’s injury might be more significant.
Read’s power will be missed, but McCaw has confidence he can do the job at No.8.
“At the end of the day, apart from a little bit of stuff at set piece time, you don’t change your game a whole lot.”
– With NZN.
Richie (Melbourne)
Guest
Agree on a global rugby calendar - preferably spanning the back ends of both seasons. But it does make it hard to have money-spinning local competitions running at advantageous times. Most of the teams would've played higher levels of test in the last calendar year though, with the World Cup on?
mania
Guest
royce - your not a 12 year old girl?!? oh, how old are you?
mania
Guest
no the ref doesnt have to sin bin for a professional foul. he can give a warning. usually a ref would take into a/c the affect the card would have on the game. this ref didnt and i reckon he's angry that he got knocked down earlier. stupid card not because of the incident but because of the overall affect it'll have on the game
mania
Guest
bit harsh. nonu and rudiWulf are the only backs performing for the blues. nonu's still playing well just for a loser super team. nonu still has the goods. but glad hansen rested him. funny that a player like nonu gets called up to the AB's just so he can have a rest.
mania
Guest
damo - "Thought the sin bin was a bit harsh in the circumstances" it was downright uncalled for. totally ruined any chance of the irish trying to regain some pride. the ref i reckon took umbrage from being knocked down earlier by the greens.
mania
Guest
damien - ignorance is bliss. leave him to it . must be nice in warm where he is.
mania
Guest
richie is still the man. cane is the heir apparent. the kid made 20 tackles when he was taken off. often saw him and richie in tandem putting in tackles or clearing / securing rucks. richie was trieless and dominated.
Demon Dez
Guest
Royce mate, I can't hear you.....
Jarmen
Guest
So did I chuck and as I said above I was scorned and basically laughed at for even daring to have such an opinion.
Jarmen
Guest
Only a few days ago I was scorned for even daring to suggest that the Irish had played their test match in Christchurch. The result was inevitable the All Blacks were always going to want pay back as they weren't happy with their efforts in the South. I thought a thumping would be on the cards but even I didn't expect it to be by 60pts. These reults mean little in the wider context of the RC that is a whole two months away and that is plenty of time for players to recover from injury or players to be injured.
jason
Guest
hear hear.
Mike
Guest
Well said.
Sylvester
Guest
To be fair to the ref, if he's ruled deliberate knock down he's pretty much obliged to dish the card because the ABs had two unmarked players ready to take that pass.
KiwiDave
Roar Guru
I just hope SBW stays with the All Blacks and NZ rugby. He would be wasted going back to the NRL and it would be a huge backward step for him. If he needs the money, go play rugby in Japan. Heard he has a $1.5 mill offer for 1 season. If he wants fame, stick with the All Blacks. The NRL has nothing that Rugby can offer him. All it can offer him is mediocrity within a battling Roosters or Eels side.
Tigranes
Guest
Wasnt that a raised elbow used by gear?
Swapacrate
Guest
Is Ireland an international team, sometimes its the top 6 inches, and messam , has quelled that tonight.
Je Geniko
Guest
Congratulations to the Irish U20 team. Their best finish ever at the junior worlds.
Damo
Guest
Commiserations pothale. Seems like last week was their best and only chance. Very sad for Odriscoll. Thought the sin bin was a bit harsh in the circumstances
Damien
Roar Guru
Very true but I reckon it would still affect his game. If he plays well during this time, that would be scary..
Jerry
Guest
The sun is currently going down at about 5:15pm, so even in July/August, he'll have enough time to eat and get some energy prior to a 7:30 kickoff. If the Chiefs have any 5:30 matches it will be interesting though.