SEVU REECE AND George Bridge add a “fearless” edge to New Zealand’s squad for tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final showdown against Ireland, according to assistant coach Ian Foster.
Reece and Bridge have both impressed so far for the two-time defending champions in Japan and have made the cut for Steve Hansen’s XV against Ireland on Saturday.
The duo’s inclusion sees Rieko Ioane and the experienced Ben Smith miss out on Hansen’s 23-man squad, but Foster believes the World Cup debutants can be key.
“There is a little bit of fearlessness about them,” Foster told today’s pre-match press conference.
“Some of it is probably because they haven’t been at a World Cup before, they probably don’t what is at stake, in some sense.
“But they are really sensible young men. They train hard, they play hard. When you haven’t got Ben and Rieko in the group, that is a tough decision, because they are two pretty special people in our group.
“We just felt that George and Sevu have done enough. There is a bit of spark there and we will run with that.”
Joe Schmidt’s Ireland lost to hosts Japan in their second outing but victories over Scotland, Russia and Samoa saw them progress, as they recovered some form following doubts coming into the tournament.
Foster sees confidence and momentum as the deciding factors in this last-eight tie, with Ireland winning two of the last three Tests between the sides.
“I am pretty sure they will have some tricks up their sleeve, and we like to think we have got a couple up our sleeve,” he added.
“That is the nature of preparing for a big Test match. But to be honest, games like this are often not about a special trick or surprise. It is about your confidence, how you deal with the pressure and how you keep executing your own game.
“It is one thing to know each other’s game, it’s another to execute it properly and to stop the other person doing it. That is what play-offs are about.”
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