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Ireland vow not to take All Blacks lightly despite 'good track record'
By
PA
Lock Joe McCarthy believes Ireland have “earned the right” to feel confident of taking on the All Blacks as they attempt to banish bitter memories of last year’s agonising Rugby World Cup exit.
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New Zealand are due at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday evening for the first meeting of the sides since Andy Farrell’s team were defeated 28-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 tournament in France.
Ireland had won five of the previous eight clashes between the nations prior to the painful elimination in Paris, including securing a historic 2-1 tour success in 2022.
“Getting to play the All Blacks is where we want to be, testing ourselves against a world-class team, it’s exciting,” said McCarthy, who is fully fit following a recent hamstring issue.
“Every game starts on zero. I feel like every game, you have to make it happen.
“No matter what position you play, you’re playing against 15 top-quality rugby players, so you’re preparing as hard as you can.
“We’ve had a good track record the last few years, we’ve earned the right to have a bit of confidence going into games.
“There’s nerves in big Test matches, but we’re confident in what we can do, and definitely won’t be taking the All Blacks lightly.”
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Ireland went into the World Cup as Test rugby’s top-ranked team but trailed New Zealand for the majority of the last-eight encounter at Stade de France before falling short.
Farrell’s side, who also host Argentina, Fiji and Australia this month, recovered from that setback by retaining the Guinness Six Nations title in March before securing a 1-1 summer series draw away to world champions South Africa.
Leinster second-row McCarthy has become a key man for his country, starting each of their seven matches in 2024.
Despite feeling the lingering frustration of last October’s loss in which he played the final 22 minutes, the 23-year-old is determined to focus on future challenges.
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“You obviously do think back to it a bit,” said McCarthy.
“It was such a massive game and you want to put your best foot forward and make a bit of history with Ireland, but it is something that reminds you where you need to be at for those games.
“But the beast keeps rolling on in rugby, you keep going on to the next thing and don’t look too far back.
“It is something that plays on your mind, at that sort of level you have to be at your best in those big games or you won’t come away with the win.”
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Ireland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.