All Blacks, Irish to renew rivalry in World Cup quarterfinal

Zealand from a spot it had occupied since the ranking system began.

Against that background, the match between Ireland and defending champion New Zealand at Tokyo on Saturday, which appears the most competitive of the quarterfinals, also seems a reckoning between the teams.

It occurs earlier in the tournament than expected. Japan’s wins over Ireland and Scotland in Pool A went against pre-tournament predictions and saw the hosts emerge atop their pool, forcing second-place Ireland into a quarterfinal against Pool C winner New Zealand.

“The best part is we know who we’re playing. They’re a quality side, they’ve been No. 1 this year,” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said yesterday. “The last three results are ‘loss, win, loss’ so there won’t be any complacency in our camp. It’s pretty exciting; we’re right where we want to be.”

Hansen said last year’s encounter was a “titanic struggle” and Ireland was slightly better on the day.

“It’s taken them a long time to get there and obviously they enjoyed it,” Hansen said of the drought-breaking win, “so they decided to keep doing it.”

With more at stake this weekend, Hansen said the game would have a different feel to recent head-to-head meetings.

“The big difference here is it’s a do or die game for both teams. Both teams are in good nick – fresh, excited.”

If there is an outside influence on the match it is the fact New Zealand’s last scheduled pool match against Italy on Saturday was cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis, meaning they will go into the knockout round without a match since Oct. 6 when they beat Namibia 71-9 in a muddling performance.

Ireland go into the quarterfinal on the back of a much more emphatic 45-7 win over Samoa on Saturday, achieved with only 14 men. That gives Ireland the better preparation, leaving New Zealand to do the bulk of its leadup work on the training field.