It has been a bountiful year for Irish rugby. Securing an impressive Grand Slam in Twickenham, winning a test series in Australia, it is remarkable that the visit of New Zealand on Saturday evening will ultimately determine how great 2018 has really been.
Getting over the hump in Chicago two years ago, Joe Schmidt’s side will nevertheless be desperate to end Ireland’s long winless run over New Zealand in Dublin.
Coming off the back of a tremendous year, Ireland appears well-placed to take on the reigning World champions.
Pondering just what it is that sets the All Blacks apart, former Leinster and Connacht fly-half Andy Dunne has hailed the considered strategy propping up their undeniable talent.
"They’ve had a dimension of danger for as long as I can remember," Dunne stated. "They have huge resources and a huge playing squad."
New Zealand perform the haka before the Quilter International match at Twickenham Stadium. Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire/PA Images
Such an abundance of talent was not without its issues however.
"Up until recently, the average All-Black was only capped between 25 to 50 times," Dunne recalled.
"Now, that trend has been bucked somewhat in the last 10 years, with a number of stalwarts from the [Richie] McCaw era earning over 100 caps.
"The trend in New Zealand rugby was that nobody really got more than 25 or 30 caps because they just weren’t given that opportunity – the guys behind them were coming through strong."
What spurred the All Blacks into changing this old dynamic? Not winning enough, of course.
"They still have that strength and depth, but they have a bit more consistency in selection. I think that was predicated on the fact that they couldn’t quite win World Cups.
"So, they decided to stick with players, give them opportunities for longer periods and grow a team over a lengthy period and this was obviously vindicated with the winning of two World Cups."
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