ALB finds his groove on biggest stage of all

that hard work, hopefully that results in a good performance.’’

If Lienert-brown sounds like a bit of a stuck record, that’s because he essentially is. He’s figured out what works for him and he’s sticking rigidly to that process. And you can’t argue with the results.

The talented ball-runner has been close to the All Blacks’ best performer through the pool stage of the global tournament and now he’s zeroing in on his third meeting against the Irish. He has a win (2016) and a defeat (2018) in his two outings and has plenty of respect for the challenge looming.

‘‘They’re a quality side, they’re well coached and I’m sure they’ll have plenty of specials up their sleeves or opportunities they’ve seen. It’s always been tough against them but as a team we’re in a good place.’’

The discussion then morphed into the territory of how much analysis and study the modern player did in a week. Was there ever enough hours? Could you spend too much time in front of a screen watching Irish footage?

‘‘You don’t want to overdo things because balance in a week is so important,’’ adds Lienertbrown who values his Tuesday beers and Wednesday golf excursions as important downtime staples in his test week. ‘‘You want to get the work in you need to get done but you want to get away from it as well.

‘‘Saturday night is the most important thing and the extra 5-10 minutes on a computer could be detrimental to that because you’re over-thinking things. You’ve got to trust you’re doing the right amount and that’s what’s worked for you in the past and just back it.’’

So far in 2019 it’s hard to argue with the results. Lienert-brown has found not just the right headspace, but a groove on the field that now makes him one of the first All Blacks picked.

The big selection point of the week is who partners him in Steve Hansen’s starting midfield. His versatility makes that a multi-choice answer. His form means it’s an exciting prospect for whomever gets the nod.

Eddie Jones versus Michael Cheika is being billed as ‘‘the battle of the big mouths’’ with the coaching rivalry set to dominate the lead-in to the juicy Rugby World Cup quarterfinal between England and Australia.

They square off on Saturday (8.15pm NZT) but already the testy relationship between the two mouthy coaches is hitting the headlines in the UK.

The Times described them as the ‘‘Rugby World Cup’s gobbiest coaches’’ with their personal history going back to their playing days at Sydney’s Randwick club and for New South Wales.

The Times noted that Cheika didn’t want to ‘‘get into an old boys’ spat . . . but could he resist?’’

They then ran a few gems from the highly opinionated Cheika that covered Jones bringing in NRL great Ricky Stuart for advice and also his typhoon predictions.

There was also a cutting line when Cheika was asked whether getting a win over England would be a special career moment. Cheika insisted he did not see it like that. You ‘‘cherish’’ the good moments, he said. ‘‘You are not looking to make a movie or write a book,’’ he added, in reference to Jones, who has had the movie and is now doing a book.

It was a fair question considering Jones holds a 6-0