Undefeated in group play and impressive mastery, Ireland meets New Zealand for a monumental shock in the quarter-final. Follow the match live with commentary, from 9 p.m., on the Linternaute.com website.
We call it a final before the letter, a clash between two of the best nations in the world, between two ideas of rugby. On one side will be the shimmering green of Ireland and its hopes of greatness, so often faded, on the other will rise the deep black of New Zealand, an ogre never satisfied and too long deprived of its crown. An air of déjà vu too since four years ago, the Irish and New Zealanders crossed paths at the same stadium. A painful memory for the first ones who have forgotten nothing about the spanking received, the 7 attempts taken and the feeling of humiliation alleviated by two late but vain attempts (14-46).
There are 11 on the Irish side to have experienced the sinking of Tokyo, eleven who have nourished their thirst for revenge throughout its four years and who see in this meeting the opportunity to show another face, more in line with their level. “I guess there was an inferiority complex in the past, that when we became number one in the world, we were afraid of failing. I think we learned to give ourselves big challenges, to take them on and savor them,” Andy Farrell immediately dissipates. He, the coach, was not there in Japan and allowed Ireland to get back on their feet.
A successful job since last summer, the XV du Trèfle won, for the first time in its history, its tour of New Zealand. A way of showing the evolution of Irish rugby and its new level of maturity. As well as the starting point, in Dunedin, of a fantastic run of 17 consecutive victories which boosted the confidence of the Irish without blinding them. Because Sexton and others know well the scale of the challenge that awaits them. “We know it will be a huge challenge but we are looking forward to it,” says hooker Ronan Kelleher. “We will now face New Zealand in the quarter-finals. They are a fantastic team, who we respect to the highest degree. This match will be of a higher level than what we have experienced so far and it will take that we take the quality, precision and intensity of our game up a notch,” adds Andy Farrell as if to warn his men.
It must be said that the New Zealand opponent is not an expiatory victim who advances blindly towards an assured defeat. Far from there. If she lost the first match in her history in the group stage of the World Cup, she used it to bounce back and return to her fundamentals with a game full of speed and percussion. Uruguayans, Namibians and Italians, transfixed on all sides, were unfortunate witnesses to New Zealand’s wrath with 36 tries conceded. An attack that has become ruthless again under the leadership of Joe Schmidt for whom this match will have a particular flavor, he the former coach of Ireland (2013-2019) and the sign that it is never good to titillate the pride of Blacks.
However, they were mishandled by the Irish who dominated them four times in their last six matches, in an electric atmosphere each time where provocations arose. “We are a totally different team than in July 2022,” promises Aaron Smith, who started the three tests in New Zealand last summer and was a privileged witness to this Irish first in the antipodes. But make no mistake, the upcoming quarter-final will have nothing to do with what preceded.
“They have something to prove, we have to be ready to face the best version of the Blacks,” warns Conor Murray. A prospect to which the Irish machine is ready to respond with its ruthless precision, through this precise rugby which fits so closely with its personality. “We don’t want to be second best, we want to be first,” proclaims Andy Farrell. What better way to prove it than in this moment against the New Zealand idol. “This match is all or nothing,” summarizes Ronan Kelleher. The match of a lifetime for the green people. “It’s a final and we’re ready,” echoes Aaron Smith.
The Irish and New Zealanders know what awaits them and what they have to do, it remains to be seen who, the impressive green mechanics or the black storm, will gain the upper hand in this duel which promises to write an epic page in the World Cup against a backdrop of tensions between contenders for the supreme title.
The second quarter-final of the 2023 World Cup between Ireland and New Zealand will take place from 9 p.m. at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
The quarter-final of the 2023 World Cup between the XV of Clubs and the All Blacks, nickname of the New Zealand team, will be broadcast live in clear on TF1.
The quarter-final of the World Cup between Jonathan Sexton’s Ireland and Ardie Savea’s New Zealand will be available for streaming on the MyTF1 platform.
BetClic: Ireland: 1.75 / Draw: 22 / New Zealand: 2.30
Sports Bets: Ireland: 1.75 / Draw: 20 / New Zealand: 2.40
Winamax: Ireland: 1.75 / Draw: 23 / New Zealand: 2.30
Irlande : 1. Porter, 2. Sheehan, 3. Furlong – 4. Beirne, 5. Henderson – 6. O’Mahony, 7. Van der Flier, 8. Doris – 9. Gibson-Park, 10. Sexton (cap.) – 11. Lowe, 12. Aki, 13. Ringrose, 14. Hansen – 15. Keenan.
Nouvelle-Zélande : 1. De Groot, 2. Taylor, 3. Lomax – 4. Retallick, 5. S. Barrett – 6. Frizell, 7. Cane (cap.), 8. Savea – 9. Smith, 10. Mo’unga – 11. Fainga’Anuku, 12. J. Barrett, 13. Ioane, 14. Jordan – 15. B. Barrett.
