Ireland target first semi-final appearance as they prepare to face New Zealand

Ireland will aim to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time when they come up against two-time reigning champions New Zealand in Tokyo.

Ireland have won two of their last three meetings with the All Blacks but had to settle for second place behind Japan in Pool A of this tournament.

New Zealand topped Pool B despite their final group game with Italy being cancelled because of Typhoon Hagibis.

New Zealand last lost a World Cup game in a 2007 quarter-final loss to France.

Steve Hansen’s side remain on course for a third consecutive World Cup crown after passing their biggest test on the opening weekend with a 23-13 win over South Africa in Yokohama, before breezing past Namibia and Canada.

Despite their scheduled encounter with the Italians being called off, the All Blacks qualified for the knock-out stages with the highest average points (52) of any side in the competition.

The champions have trusted Jack Goodhue and Anton Leinert-Brown to solve their midfield conundrum, while Brodie Retallick is named at lock despite little game time in Japan.

Beauden Barrett will once again operate at full-back with Richie Mo’unga at fly-half while Cody Taylor is preferred to Dane Coles at hooker.

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Depending on the outcome of Saturday’s match this could be head coach Joe Schmidt’s final game in charge of the Irish team and Rory Best’s last match as a professional player.

Schmidt has restored experienced duo Rob Kearney and Peter O’Mahony to the starting line-up, with Garry Ringrose partnering Robbie Henshaw in the centre for the first time in 16 months.

Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton will become Ireland’s most-capped starting half-back duo as they line up together for the 56th time.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Ireland fly-half Sexton said it is “a little bit surreal” that the World Cup quarter-final is just one day away.

“It’s been a long time in the back of our minds, this quarter-final,” Sexton said. “We’re here now. It’s a little bit ‘I can’t believe it’s finally here’.”

Since losing to Argentina at the last-eight stage four years ago, Schmidt has been working towards building a team and a system that will break new ground in Japan.

Saturday’s game is, as Sexton acknowledged, the team’s most important match since the same stage in 2015.

From the moment the pool stages were announced, Ireland knew they were on a collision course with either New Zealand or South Africa.

After being defeated by Japan in Shizuoka, Ireland secured successive bonus-point wins to book their place in the quarter-finals for the seventh time.

While World Cup history does not favour Ireland, Schmidt’s side will hope to summon the confidence gained from some of their best results in the last four years, including their first two victories over New Zealand.

Sexton, 34, will be starting his first quarter-final and believes his side are better placed than ever to go deep into the competition with their blend of youth and experience.

“You look around and see guys like Garry Ringrose, Jacob Stockdale and James Ryan. Guys that are just top quality people and players.

“Then you look around at some of the more experienced guys that have been around the block so that’s what gives us belief and confidence.”

The teams

Ireland: Kearney; Earls, Ringrose, Henshaw, Stockdale; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Best, Furlong, Henderson, James Ryan, O’Mahony; Van der Flier, Stander.

Replacements: Scannell, Kilcoyne, Porter, Beirne, Ruddock, McGrath, Carbery, Larmour.

New Zealand: B Barrett; Reece, Goodhue, Lienert-Brown, Bridge; Mo’unga, Smith; Moody, Taylor, Laulala, Retallick, Whitelock; Savea, Cane, Reid.

Replacements: Coles, Tuungafasi, Ta’avao, S Barrett, Todd, Perenara, Williams, J Barrett.

What they said

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt: “You can’t go out against an All Blacks side and accept you are second fiddle.

“There are a number of players within the side that have contributed to a fair bit of history for us.

“The first win over the All Blacks, the first time we won at home against the All Blacks, but a few other milestones along the way.”

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen: “There’s a lot of energy and excitement in the team which is normal for this stage of the tournament where the winner takes all. It will add extra pressure to both sides.

“We feel we’ve selected a great mixture of talent in our 23, who are in great form, and the squad includes many players who have a lot of Rugby World Cup knockout match experience.”

Match stats

• New Zealand have won 28 of their 31 meetings with Ireland in Test rugby (D1, L2), however their two defeats have come in their last three clashes with Ireland (2016 and 2018).
• New Zealand and Ireland have met just once before at the Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks winning 43-19 in their pool stage clash in 1995.
• Ireland have reached the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup for the seventh time, however they’ve never progressed to the last four at the tournament, suffering six quarter-final defeats, no side has endured more losses at this stage (Scotland also L6).
• New Zealand have won their last 17 Rugby World Cup games, a record for any nation in the tournament’s history; their last defeat at the World Cup did come in a quarter-final however, a dramatic 18-20 loss to France in 2007.
• New Zealand have scored a try in each of their last 29 Rugby World Cup matches, a run that began in 2003; since the 2015 Rugby World Cup the All Blacks have failed to score a try in any Test on just two occasions – their last meeting with Ireland (Nov 2018) and against the Lions (2nd Test, 2017), Andy Farrell was the opposition defence coach on the day for both sides.
• Conor Murray has scored four tries in nine Tests against New Zealand, crossing three times for Ireland and once for the Lions, no player outside Australia or South Africa has crossed the whitewash against the All Blacks as often

For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

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