Former Ireland fullback Rob Kearney says the All Blacks will arrive in Dublin ‘scared’ of what Andy Farrell’s side could do in Friday night’s rematch of the 2023 World Cup quarterfinal.
The All Blacks held out for a 28-24 victory when the two teams faced off just over a year ago in the World Cup playoffs in Paris, a result that continued Ireland’s run of bad fortune in the quarterfinals.
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However, Ireland do go into Friday’s rematch having beaten New Zealand in five of the last nine games, a run going back to the groundbreaking victory in Chicago in 2016.
Kearny, who was at fullback when Ireland claimed that win in the USA, believes that their strike rate will have Scott Robertson’s charges wary of what could transpire at the Aviva Stadium this weekend.
During an appearance on Ireland AM with former teammate Tommy Bowe, Kearney also highlighted the beef between Rieko Ioane and Johnny Sexton as an example of the rivalry that has been built between the two teams.
“A little bit of bad blood. Listen, I think Ireland-New Zealand is always that fixture that everyone looks forward to. There is a huge amount of excitement,” Kearney said.
“They are the All Blacks, they will always have that aura about them. But I think they are scared of Ireland now. You know, we have done a job on them the last few years.
“Of course, they will always point to the last two quarter-finals of the World Cup which is what matters, but they will be coming to Dublin a little bit scared of what could potentially happen. And we’ll be scared too because the Irish team are always scared coming up against them.”
Photo: Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
The post Kearney clucks at ‘fearful’ All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
