ALL BLACKS BOSS Dave Rennie has picked Josh Moorby for his first Test start in Saturday’s highly-anticipated Nations Championship encounter with Ireland at Eden Park [KO 8.10am Irish time, Virgin Media].
Hurricanes wing Moorby, who made an impressive debut off the bench against Italy last weekend, comes into the side in place of the injured Leroy Carter.
28-year-old Moorby had a sensational season in helping the Hurricanes to win Super Rugby Pacific, scoring a new joint-record 17 tries, matching team-mate Fehi Fineanganofo, who was ruled out of this Ireland game due to injury.
“He’s been excellent all year and for him to come on quite early and play with that sort of confidence was awesome, so it gives us a lot of confidence to throw him out there,” said Rennie of Moorby.
“He trained superbly and he’s just a really good footballer. A massive engine, massive work rate and he’s looking forward to his first start.”
Rennie has made four personnel changes to his starting XV in all, with the experienced Patrick Tuipulotu coming into the second row along with Josh Lord, meaning that Tupou Vaa’i shifts from lock to blindside flanker. Wallace Sititi drops out of the match-day 23.
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“It gives us a bigger lineout, a bigger pack,” said Rennie of moving Vaa’i to blindside, where he has played for New Zealand before. “I feel he’s got the skillset, he suits what we want, and I’m keen to give him another crack there.
“So it’s a big pack for us and so we’re well aware of the importance of set-piece. Ireland are very good, they’re very disciplined, and they’ll put you in the corner and they’ll hurt you down there. We’ve picked a pack that we think can compete and hopefully give us an edge.”
There’s a change in the New Zealand midfield, with dynamic outside centre Quinn Tupaea coming in for Billy Proctor.
There are plenty of alterations to the All Blacks bench too, with an all-new replacement front row of Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia and Fletcher Newell. Peter Lakai joins Germany native Anton Segner – who also debuted well against Italy – as back row cover, while powerful wing Caleb Clarke comes into the number 23 shirt.
Ireland named their match-day 23 earlier on Thursday in Auckland, and Rennie said the All Blacks have a good sense of what to expect from Andy Farrell’s team.
“We know where they’re coming,” said Rennie. “They’ve got a really good kicking game, and they’ll apply pressure through that. There’s a lot of detail within their attack and they’ve got a real good short passing game and they’re prepared to go multi-phase.
“Our job is to get them out of their comfort zone, ensure through how we defend that they’re below their best and try and profit off that.
“We’re going to have to bar up big time at set-piece, and we’re pretty confident with the group we’ve got that we can apply pressure there.
“It’s a case of us being really clinical. Our mindset’s been excellent. We’ve got to be prepared to play through them and squeeze them up a bit and pick them off as opposed to, you know, try and go wide at every opportunity.
“They’re a really good side, and we’re aware of that. We genuinely respect their ability, and that excites me because I know the boys are going to bar up.”
New Zealand (v Ireland):
15. Damian McKenzie
14. Will Jordan
13. Quinn Tupaea
12. Jordie Barrett
11. Josh Moorby
10. Ruben Love
9. Cam Roigard
1. Ethan de Groot
2. Codie Taylor
3. Tyrel Lomax
4. Josh Lord
5. Patrick Tuipulotu
6. Tupou Vaa’i
7. Luke Jacobson
8. Ardie Savea (captain)
Replacements:
16. Asafo Aumua
17. Xavier Numia
18. Fletcher Newell
19. Anton Segner
20. Peter Lakai
21. Cortez Ratima
22. Anton Lienert-Brown
23. Caleb Clarke
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'We know where they're coming' - All Blacks show hand for Ireland clash
ALL BLACKS BOSS Dave Rennie has picked Josh Moorby for his first Test start in Saturday’s highly-anticipated Nations Championship encounter with Ireland at Eden Park [KO 8.10am Irish time, Virgin Media].
Hurricanes wing Moorby, who made an impressive debut off the bench against Italy last weekend, comes into the side in place of the injured Leroy Carter.
28-year-old Moorby had a sensational season in helping the Hurricanes to win Super Rugby Pacific, scoring a new joint-record 17 tries, matching team-mate Fehi Fineanganofo, who was ruled out of this Ireland game due to injury.
“He’s been excellent all year and for him to come on quite early and play with that sort of confidence was awesome, so it gives us a lot of confidence to throw him out there,” said Rennie of Moorby.
“He trained superbly and he’s just a really good footballer. A massive engine, massive work rate and he’s looking forward to his first start.”
Rennie has made four personnel changes to his starting XV in all, with the experienced Patrick Tuipulotu coming into the second row along with Josh Lord, meaning that Tupou Vaa’i shifts from lock to blindside flanker. Wallace Sititi drops out of the match-day 23.
“It gives us a bigger lineout, a bigger pack,” said Rennie of moving Vaa’i to blindside, where he has played for New Zealand before. “I feel he’s got the skillset, he suits what we want, and I’m keen to give him another crack there.
“So it’s a big pack for us and so we’re well aware of the importance of set-piece. Ireland are very good, they’re very disciplined, and they’ll put you in the corner and they’ll hurt you down there. We’ve picked a pack that we think can compete and hopefully give us an edge.”
There’s a change in the New Zealand midfield, with dynamic outside centre Quinn Tupaea coming in for Billy Proctor.
There are plenty of alterations to the All Blacks bench too, with an all-new replacement front row of Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia and Fletcher Newell. Peter Lakai joins Germany native Anton Segner – who also debuted well against Italy – as back row cover, while powerful wing Caleb Clarke comes into the number 23 shirt.
Ireland named their match-day 23 earlier on Thursday in Auckland, and Rennie said the All Blacks have a good sense of what to expect from Andy Farrell’s team.
“We know where they’re coming,” said Rennie. “They’ve got a really good kicking game, and they’ll apply pressure through that. There’s a lot of detail within their attack and they’ve got a real good short passing game and they’re prepared to go multi-phase.
“Our job is to get them out of their comfort zone, ensure through how we defend that they’re below their best and try and profit off that.
“We’re going to have to bar up big time at set-piece, and we’re pretty confident with the group we’ve got that we can apply pressure there.
“It’s a case of us being really clinical. Our mindset’s been excellent. We’ve got to be prepared to play through them and squeeze them up a bit and pick them off as opposed to, you know, try and go wide at every opportunity.
“They’re a really good side, and we’re aware of that. We genuinely respect their ability, and that excites me because I know the boys are going to bar up.”
New Zealand (v Ireland):
15. Damian McKenzie
14. Will Jordan
13. Quinn Tupaea
12. Jordie Barrett
11. Josh Moorby
10. Ruben Love
9. Cam Roigard
1. Ethan de Groot
2. Codie Taylor
3. Tyrel Lomax
4. Josh Lord
5. Patrick Tuipulotu
6. Tupou Vaa’i
7. Luke Jacobson
8. Ardie Savea (captain)
Replacements:
16. Asafo Aumua
17. Xavier Numia
18. Fletcher Newell
19. Anton Segner
20. Peter Lakai
21. Cortez Ratima
22. Anton Lienert-Brown
23. Caleb Clarke
Referee: Nic Berry [Australia].
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