Declan Kidney has warned that New Zealand have never been better as his Ireland side bid to beat the All Blacks for the first time in their history.
The closest Ireland have come to upsetting the Kiwis was a 10-10 draw in 1973, but Kidney is confident victory is still achievable despite likening his rivals in tomorrow's game at Croke Park as "the Tiger Woods of rugby".
"Our record against them isn't great," he said. "It reads played 21, lost 20. And I don't think they've ever been more dangerous to play but I've told the guys that history has nothing to do with this match. The All Blacks are just another side we have to unpick."
Kidney has plenty of experience of upsets after a decade of success at Munster and, in only his second game in charge of the national side, he has gone back to his roots.
Eight Munster men make the starting line-up, the most surprising of which is Tomas O'Leary, 25, at scrum-half.
He gets the nod over the Wasps No 9 Eoin Reddan to start against the All Blacks.
Croke Park is familiar territory for O'Leary - he won a junior All-Ireland title there in 2001 - as are the All Blacks - he was part of the Irish side that lost in the final of the Junior World Cup to New Zealand four years ago.
Aside from O'Leary, Kidney has gone for experienced players.
Girvan Dempsey returns in place of Keith Earls at full-back despite Earls' bright performance in the 55-0 win over Canada last weekend.
Alan Quinlan and David Wallace are also recalled in the back row, with Wallace having the unenviable task of taking on All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
Wallace has spent the week watching footage of McCaw in action and will have his work cut out silencing arguably the world's best back-row forward. "You have to be on your toes to counteract him," said Wallace.
"He's the best in the world at what he does. He has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, some of which I've spotted on the tapes.
"I cannot afford to switch off for a second as he can change a game in a flash."
Another potential game breaker is the Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, who will run out for his 50th cap tomorrow and revealed the match could provide him with one of the remaining goals of his career.
"I've beaten every other side in world rugby but not the All Blacks," he said.
"I'd love to do that and it would make a change, as our results have been pretty predictable against them."
mmajendie@thenational.ae
The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 +0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 +0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 +0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458
HAJJAN
Director: Abu Bakr Shawky
Starring: Omar Alatawi, Tulin Essam, Ibrahim Al-Hasawi
Rating: 4/5
UAE set for Scotland series
The UAE will host Scotland for a three-match T20I series at the Dubai International Stadium next month.
The two sides will start their Cricket World Cup League 2 campaigns with a tri-series also involving Canada, starting on January 29.
That series will be followed by a bilateral T20 series on March 11, 13 and 14.
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
