New Zealand-Ireland Preview: All Blacks Look To Continue Irish Domination

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 10, 2010

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The 2010 test season begins for the All Blacks hosting an Irish team that will be keen to stamp their authority in a year where they have seen all symbols of their status stripped from them in the space of a few months.

Though still full of members of the modern “golden age,” the loss of the Six Nations, Heineken Cup, and Magners League title from last year could well be indicative that a strong Ireland team may be entering a rebuilding phase.

While the side under coach Declan Kidney had finally fulfilled the promise shown with numerous triple crowns and Six Nations runner’s up gongs, there is still a nagging doubt that they are incapable of matching it with the world’s best.

While a draw with the Wallabies and a 20-15 win over a tired Springboks were notable late last year, two big questions remain.

Can Kidney coax enough out of his veteran core and continue to introduce promising talent via a strong Irish rugby system to challenge for a World Cup, and can they beat the one nation that they have never tasted success against in 105 years?

While the Springboks may have usurped the All Blacks as the premier nation in the South last year, the New Zealanders' unbeaten record against the Irish still shows their remarkable pedigree, no matter what their condition or who is named in their test XV.

But while six straight test wins and a four-match clean sweep of Europe helped ease the pain of conceding the Tri Nations to the South Africans in 2009, this is an All Blacks team that has seen a paradigm shift of the usual “mid World Cup status quo.”

While 2008—13 wins from 15 matches—was a stunning riposte from a side stinging from their defeat to France in the World Cup, last year saw the side and nation shocked by the strategies imposed by their old foes from the republic.

This led to question marks such as lack of basic skills, the a...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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