World No 1 Ireland tackle New Zealand in a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal for the ages at Stade de France on Saturday.
Ireland v All Blacks
14 October
Stade de France
Ireland 8/10 | Draw 22/1 | New Zealand 21/20
Handicap
Ireland (-1.5) 9/10 | NZ (+1.5) 9/10
With so much having been made of the Kiwis’ lacklustre performances during the Ian Foster regime, a defeat on the weekend would be the exclamation point at the end of what has been one of the poorest periods in the great rugby nation’s history.
After several historic losses since 2020, including last year’s 2-1 home series defeat to this week’s opponents, the confidence in the All Blacks squad is at the lowest it’s been in recent memory. Couple that with the underwhelming displays of the side’s forward pack and the reality is Saturday’s encounter could be a lot more lopsided than expected.
In spite of the fact that Ireland have yet to come out on top in any of their eight World Cup quarterfinals, the current crop, led by the irrepressible Johnny Sexton, are a different breed.
They’ve got the hunger, experience, forward might and playbook to make history and avenge the 46-14 hiding they took against New Zealand at the same stage of the 2019 showpiece in Japan.
Be bold and get on Andy Farrell’s charges to take this one by 10-points or more.
Verdict: Ireland (-1.5) 9/10
