IT’S A SIMPLE question, and one which has been asked all week, but in 18 attempts no side has been able to answer it; how do you go about beating Steve Hansen’s All Blacks?
Not since Australia put 27 points past New Zealand in August of last year have the world champions been beaten as they’ve embarked on a unprecendented winning streak, sweeping aside any challenger with such conviction.
Joe Schmidt’s Ireland have two opportunities to plot the downfall of a side widely-heralded as one of the greatest of all time, although not many observers are giving them much chance this weekend.
New Zealand’s formidable form, coupled with Ireland’s short preparation window and the absence of experienced heads like Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony, means the odds are heavily stacked against Ireland causing an upset in Chicago.
And All Black great Dan Carter admits it would be a huge shock if Hansen’s all-conquering side weren’t to extend their streak to 19 tomorrow, even if he is allowing for the unpredictability of sport.
“All the favours are with the All Blacks continuing their winning streak but it is the beauty of sport and why we watch it,” the legendary out-half said in Dublin yesterday.
“Anything can happen on the field and playing with the All Blacks, in my experience, is a game that opponents love to get up for. They can grow an arm and a leg in these matches. Anything is possible.
“They are going to have to play out of their skins for 80 minutes until the final whistle to have any chance. You never rule it out but the All Blacks are playing with a huge amount of confidence off the back of a pretty awesome season. I’m pretty confident they’ll continue that pattern and hopefully get the win.”
The long-standing rivalry between the two countries will be renewed at Solider Field for the first of two November Test matches, with Schmidt’s charges chasing history in America by hoping to become the first Irish side to topple the All Blacks.
The task, however, has never been as great with this New Zealand side continuing to evolve and progress under Hansen since lifting the World Cup a little over 12 months ago. The gulf in class between them and the rest has widened.
“It’s been great to sit back and watch them and just see the progress from after the World Cup,” Carter, who retired from international rugby after lifting the Webb Ellis Cup, said.
“Where as a lot of teams put so much emphasis on the World Cup and didn’t really know what they were going to do afterwards and you’ve seen teams have taken a big dip since. The All Blacks have just continued to get better and that’s off the back of some strong foundations which have been put in place for many years.
“Same coaching staff and management and they’ve kept things rolling. It’s not a surprise to me as when I was involved in the All Blacks we were bringing a lot of these younger guys up into leadership roles and now a few of the older players have moved on and it’s been a natural evolution of those younger players to lead the team.”
Many of those younger players were coming through the ranks during Carter’s final years in the side and have emerged to take up the mantle and ensure the All Blacks’ enduring success remains.
Aaron Cruden was one of the players he took under his wing and nurtured and it was he who deputised for an injured Carter for the last meeting between the nations; that, haunting, almost unmentionable, game three years ago.
Cruden kicked a penalty and three conversions at the Aviva Stadium that day and although that was the closest Ireland have ever come to defeating the All Blacks in 28 attempts, Carter admits there’s huge respect in New Zealand for Irish rugby.
“There’s huge respect for the Irish side, it’s always a huge Test match,” he continued.
“You only have to look back a few years ago. It’s probably still giving a few Irish people nightmares and that game was extremely close and there’s such a great rivalry between the All Blacks and Ireland.
“We’re very lucky we have an amazing history with the success we’ve had against the Irish teams and every time there’s a game there’s always that question, is that history going to change? It brings a bit of edge to the Test match and adding to being such a great occasion, being played in Chicago. Neutral ground, although it probably won’t be neutral as there will be twice as many Irish supporters there than All Blacks supporters.
“It’s a great occasion and the All Blacks have had a lot of success this year but I know they would have been working extremely hard for this game and giving the Irish team the respect they deserve.
“The All Blacks really like Ireland’s humility. They often see a lot of similarities between the All Blacks and Ireland, they’re very humble in success, they’re a hard-working side, and they play the game with great spirit. We would enjoy catching up with them as well afterwards. When you have those values and attributes, then you naturally give them plenty of respect.”
After surviving that scare in 2013, Hansen and his players won’t be taking this weekend’s challenge lightly. They know what Ireland can bring to the party and, according to Carter, will be wary of what masterplan Schmidt might have up his sleeve.
And if Ireland are to have any joy tomorrow evening, Carter, like so many others, places huge importance on the bench and its capacity to come on and not only change the game but keep up to speed with the All Blacks in the closing stages. It is during that period in which they are so clinical and devastating.
“You need huge confidence in your bench. It’s almost become a speciality role. Something that we have put a lot of emphasis on in the last couple of years is that you’re not on the bench because you’re the second best player or something.
“You’ve got to be there to add an impact. Obviously, you might be coming on for an injury, but the reason is for a specific role. Whether that’s for the last ten minutes, twenty minutes, the coaches have their plans around that. I’ve seen a lot of teams match the All Blacks intensity and really take it to them, but to be able to do that for 80 minutes, it takes its toll on players.
“That’s where you need that impact, so Ireland obviously need huge games from the guys that come off the bench, and just need to play at a speed and physicality level that matches the All Blacks, but also forces the All Blacks into being put under pressure.
“It’s not easy to do, but in sport, momentum is a big part of the game and if Ireland can get some momentum going for a period of time they can then they can put the All Blacks under pressure.
“I’m not a coach so I haven’t really thought about what I’d do against the All Blacks. We’ve got so much work done in different aspects of the game that if you play conservative, we have an answer for that. I’m not sure if you want to pack up shop and play a defensive game. I don’t have an answer for that, to be honest.”
We’ll soon find out if Joe Schmidt has the answer.
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