IT’LL BE A FUN DAY FOR IRISH STAR BUNDEE

up a bit more. We expect Bundee to go straight into them, he won’t hold back. He will relish the challenge.

“It will be a pretty good spectacle to watch. I roomed with him last week, he chatted quite a bit to me about it and I know he can’t wait to get out there and have a shot at these guys.

“I’m sure he will know he needs to stay calm and not be stupid. I’m sure that he is smart enough to that as well.

“They’ll come looking for him but he has played enough rugby and has enough experience to know not to do anything stupid. He’s a tough lad so he will get on with it.”

The All Blacks have expressed displeasure with defecting Kiwis such as Brad Shields who played for England against them last weekend.

But Ireland boss Joe Schmidt is also backing the abrasive 28-year-old Aki to live with that criticism and meet the challenge head on as he faces the All Blacks for the first time.

Referring to Aki in midweek, Foster (inset) quipped: “He has been over here a while now and you have moulded him into an Irishman. He looks like an Irishman now, doesn’t he? He plays the Irish way.”

But Schmidt had a pop back as he backed his centre to deal with the occasion and the attention.

He said: “It’s like asking if Jerome Kaino was 100 per cent ready to play for the All Blacks because he was born in a foreign country – or Chris Masoe or Joe Rokocoko or any of those guys.

“Having coached all those guys, they were very ready to play for the All Blacks. Bundee Aki is very ready to play for us in this weekend’s fixture.” IRELAND NEW ZEALAND REFEREE: Wayne Barnes (Eng) TV TIMES: Live on RTE2 & C4