‘A FAIRLY SPIKY CONTEST’
Ireland raise tension levels ahead of much-hyped clash
The All Blacks have suffered in silence this week.
Since arriving in Ireland, the New Zealanders have woken each day to fresh stories about the cynicism, brutality and win-at-all-costs attitude they unleashed on the Irish during their 29-9 win in Dublin two years ago.
It’s not as if the test between the world’s top-ranked teams tomorrow needed any extra spice. But now that we have got it, there’s a feeling the tension has lifted a few extra notches. Good. It adds to the drama. You don’t want to miss this one.
It has been a moving feast in the Irish capital this week. Ireland first five-eighth Johnny Sexton, whose duel with All Blacks counterpart Beauden Barrett will be one to savour at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, couldn’t resist loading his magazine and plugging a few slugs in the All Blacks’ hide.
The All Blacks crossed the line in 2016, said Sexton. He also took aim at referee Wayne Barnes, who will officiate this match, saying he had a history of not giving Ireland a fair deal. Some columnists have also questioned whether the All Blacks deliberately seek to maim opponents, a reference to Robbie Henshaw being flattened by Sam Cane and Simon Zebo getting hammered by Malakai Fekitoa in that last encounter.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt also had a wee lick, warning the All Blacks that if they attempted to outmuscle his team, it would be wise to understand the hosts would not stand around with their thumbs in the elastic of their shorts.
‘‘We’ve got to get out there and give as good as we get, and that’s what will make it a fairly spiky contest this weekend,’’ Schmidt said.
All of this stems from when the All Blacks lost 40-29 to Ireland in Chicago. A fortnight later they arrived in Dublin, and promised to deliver a much more vigorous display.
Yes, it was brutal. The All Blacks say they ripped into their work, but it wasn’t as if Ireland stood around admiring the steam coming out of their mouths.
The inference from the All Blacks’ critics is that they were so incensed at being stuffed in Chicago, their first-ever loss to the Irish, that they were prepared to use any means possible to beat them.
A suggestion from Irish management that the citing commissioner looked at 12 incidents, of which 11 involved the All Blacks, after the 2016 game was pointed. The All Blacks are still wondering how Sexton escaped censure for smacking Beauden Barrett on the back of the head.
But, rather than return fire publicly this week, the All Blacks have held their breath and silently waited.
They expect Ireland to try to use big ball carriers from their front and back rows to hold possession for as long as possible to either frustrate them into conceding penalties or create the mismatches that result in their backs slipping past bulky tight forwards.
With gun No 9 Connor Murray unavailable because of injury, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was asked whether his side would aim to ‘‘target’’ halfback Kieran Marmion in a bid to unsettle him.
Hansen was reluctant to deliver a bold headline. He wants his team to light some fires at Aviva Stadium, but in legal fashion.
‘‘We never look to go out to target anybody,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘If you are going to target anybody, you want to target the big boys because they are the guys that lead you around the park.
‘‘If you can put those types of players in the red, then your team struggles more. We will just look to go out and play our own game.’’