Well, it’s certainly not the Rugby World Cup semi-final Irish fans would have been hoping for with the bad guys going up against the even bigger bad guys (which is which is down to personal preference).
Regardless, it should be a cracking match with both sides coming into the clash in fine form.
Many pundits have tipped this as the ‘real final’ as the winner of this clash is expected to go on and claim the Webb Ellis Cup.
Without further adieu, here are some talking points which could prove to be crucial for tomorrow’s blockbuster game between England and New Zealand.
Ford-Farrell vs Mo’unga-Barrett
Both Eddie Jones and Steve Hansen have opted to start two fly-halves in their teams but have chosen to start the second fly-half in different positions.
For England, Owen Farrell will start at inside-centre with George Ford occupying the No. 10 shirt. It was an instant success when Jones first tried it when he took over the reins in 2016 as they stormed to a Six Nations Grand Slam.
Jones had seemed to move away from the combination earlier in the year with Farrell starting at 10 in all five of England’s Six Nations matches.
George Ford is back in the No. 10 shirt for England.Farrell started at 10 in England’s quarter-final win over Australia but Jones has opted to return to the dual-playmaker combination in what promises to be an attacking display from the English.
Richie Mo’unga at fly-half and Beauden Barrett at fullback is a younger combination but has clearly been Hansen’s preferred combination for the All Blacks this year.
It will be interesting to see whether Barrett coming in to join the line from deep will prove to be more effective than Farrell’s excellent distribution skills at inside-centre in attack, in what could well decide the game.
Scott Barrett starting at 6
Probably the biggest selection surprise in either team was the naming of Scott Barrett at blindside flanker.
Beauden’s younger (but bigger) brother has primarily featured at second-row for the All Blacks but will fill in at flanker, with Sam Cane dropping to the bench.
This could be a sign that New Zealand are looking to disrupt England in the lineout, with Barrett standing three inches taller than Cane.
New Zealand's Scott Barrett during the quarter-final clash against Ireland.It could also mean that Hansen is worried that England will have the advantage at scrum-time and is hoping that Barret’s extra bulk will help in that regard.
Barrett, affectionately known as 'Dogroll', will want to be on his best behaviour discipline-wise after he received a red card in the All Blacks’ 47-26 loss to Australia earlier in the year.
Both sides should be well-rested
New Zealand and England have only played four games to date in this year’s Rugby World Cup after each of their final pool games were called off due to Typhoon Hagibis.
On the other hand, the other semi-finalists, Wales and South Africa, have both played five games up to this point in the tournament.
Couple this with the fact that the winner of England - New Zealand will have seven days of rest before the final, while the winner of Wales - South Africa will only have six.
This should mean that the winner of Saturday’s game can expect to be fresher for the final, although an extremely physical game is expected and could play havoc with the winner’s squad.
Recent history between the two
New Zealand have won the last six meetings between the two teams, with England’s last victory coming in their 38-21 win in 2012.
However, four of those last six wins for New Zealand were decided by five points or less and England were unlucky not to win last November after a disallowed Sam Underhill try.
England also had quite a poor 2018, coming fifth in the Six Nations and losing a three-match series in South Africa.
Jonah Lomu runs around England's Will Carling on his way to score the opening try in the 1995 Rugby World Cup semifinal in South Africa.So they’ll take confidence from pushing the All Blacks so close at the end of 2018, especially seeing as they have seemed to peak at the right time for the World Cup (which is in stark contrast to another team we know).
The two sides have played each other three times at the World Cup with New Zealand winning on each of those occasions (the last time being in 1999).
Prediction
New Zealand were in terrifying form in the quarter-final but that was largely down to Ireland’s ineptitude in both attack and defence.
England should prove much more defensively solid against the All Blacks, are much less predictable than Ireland in attack and have plenty of power in the form of Billy Vunipola and Manu Tuilagi.
History is against them, but this is an experienced English team that looks to be at the height of their powers against a brilliant but relatively young New Zealand side.
Final result: England by 3
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