Rugby: Rugby-Plenty of respect but no fear for All Blacks in Ireland clash

PARIS (Reuters) – The All Blacks have a healthy respect for Ireland as the best team in the world but there will be no fear when the two teams clash in a blockbuster World Cup quarter-final this weekend, scrumhalf Aaron Smith said on Tuesday.

Having gone 111 years without losing to Ireland, New Zealand have been defeated in five of the eight meetings between the sides over the last seven years, including two losses on home soil last year.

Ireland have won 17 straight matches since losing to New Zealand at Eden Park last July, winning the Six Nations and moving to the top of the world rankings, once the almost exclusive preserve of the All Blacks, in the process.

“They’re a great team, they’re the best team in the world … they’ve earned that,” Smith, who made his debut against Ireland in 2012, told reporters in Paris.

“But we’re at a World Cup, we’re playing in a final and it’s all on the line. History’s history, and history’s going to get created on Saturday, and we’ll see who comes out on top.”

Smith, who will win his 123rd cap at the Stade de France on Saturday, was asked about a comment from New Zealand rugby great Sean Fitzpatrick that fear of besmirching the All Blacks legacy was a powerful driving force for the team.

“My energy’s more towards the opportunity and what we might be able to achieve,” Smith, a World Cup winner in 2015, countered.

“If you are held down by the weight of the past, you won’t be able to do anything, you won’t be able to play well, you’ll be too scared to do anything, to try things, to trust your instincts.

“Being free, being energised with intent … I don’t think there’s the burden of the statistics, or any weight or anything like that. It’s a final of a World Cup for us, and we are ready to go.”

Smith did not think last year’s unprecedented 2-1 series loss to the Irish in New Zealand would mean a great deal either, given Ian Foster had overhauled his coaching staff in the wake of it.

“Last year matters in the sense of taking the learnings but I believe we’re a totally different team to July last year,” the 34-year-old added.

“We got new coaches and, as a group, that series really galvanised us. I can’t wait to see what happens.”

One of the assistant coaches Foster brought in, Jason Ryan, said that prop Tyrel Lomax, who suffered a knee injury in New Zealand’s last pool match, was training and should be available for selection.

“When you are heading into a final, it’s important that you have the luxury of picking from a full squad,” the forwards coach said.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Pritha Sarkar)