The All Blacks and Ireland have been forced to hastily rejig their battle plans 48 hours before Saturday’s one-off rugby Test as injury and an International Rugby Board (IRB) edict threatened to impact on how the game plays out.
Ireland suffered a huge blow when rising star Luke Fitzgerald withdrew with an ankle injury on Thursday, the same day the IRB ordered tougher policing of the breakdown, an All Blacks strong point.
In a Test that offers strong incentives for both sides, they did not need late upheavals.
Ireland, dominated by players from Heineken Cup champions Munster and Celtic champions Leinster, arrived here confident they could create history by scoring the first Irish win over the All Blacks in 20 Tests dating back 103 years.
The All Blacks, meanwhile, are seeking a morale-boosting win to launch a new era following last year’s World Cup failure.
Only six players who started against France in the shock 18-20 World Cup quarterfinal loss are in the line-up to play Ireland, including openside flanker Richie McCaw, who is central to their ball-winning plans.
But an IRB edict telling referees to strictly control the ruck area has put pressure on McCaw and the rest of the All Blacks pack not to risk penalties, with Ireland armed with the accurate boot of Ronan O’Gara.
”You certainly won’t want to be down in your territory if it’s going to be a penalty at every breakdown,” All Blacks back coach Wayne Smith said.
”We’ll have to adapt to that pretty quickly.”
A key area of concern for the All Blacks is the forbidden use of hands in the ruck to free the ball, and there will likely be plenty of rucks if the forecast for heavy rain on Saturday is accurate.
”It provides difficulty of course, if there is a bit of a pile-up and the ball is sitting there, how do you get it out of there?” Smith said.
”We will just see how strictly it is applied.”
Ireland, meanwhile, have had to rethink their backline after Fitzgerald failed to recover as quickly as expected from an ankle injury and has been replaced by Paddy Wallace.
The 20-year-old Fitzgerald was to have formed an enterprising partnership with captain Brian O’Driscoll playing a mix-and-match role in the centres to keep the All Blacks guessing.
His replacement, Wallace, ”will be able to contribute to that philosophy” team manager Joey Miles said.
Miles conceded that All Blacks inside centre Ma’a Nonu would want to exploit the late change, but added: ”I’m sure Paddy is more than up to it.”
The blockbusting Nonu is back in the All Blacks after failing to make the cut for the World Cup and is among a raft of recalled and new faces in the side.
Coach Graham Henry has had four days to fluently combine members of the Canterbury Crusaders, who played and won last weekend’s Super 14 final, with players who haven’t been on the field for four weeks.
”Obviously there’s a huge amount to do in a short period of time,” he said.
”It’s just a matter of trying to make sure we cover the essentials and not try to cover it all, so it’s reasonably simplistic on Saturday.
”Just getting that balance right’s important, we’re making sure we’re giving the guys what they can handle.”
Teams:
New Zealand: Mils Muliaina; Anthony Tuitavake, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu; Daniel Carter, Andy Ellis; Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Rodney So’oialo; Ali Williams, Brad Thorn; John Afoa, Andrew Hore, Neemia Tialata. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, John Schwalger, Anthony Boric, Jimmy Cowan, Stephen Donald, Leon MacDonald, Adam Thomson
Ireland: Robert Kearney; Shane Horgan, Brian O’Driscoll (captain), Paddy Wallace, Tommy Bowe; Ronan O’Gara, Eoin Reddan; Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace, Denis Leamy; Donncha O’Callaghan, Paul O’Connell; John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Marcus Horan. Reserves: Girvan Dempsey, Geordan Murphy, Peter Stringer, Shane Jennings, Mick O’Driscoll, Tony Buckley, Rory Best. — AFP
