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Sport | All Blacks

All Blacks edgy in countdown to World Cup crunch time

Ardie Savea and Dane Coles

The pressure is firmly building this week for the All Blacks, who are coming up to the first make or break moment of this Rugby World Cup.

In front of a packed room full of journalists, coach Ian Foster was quick to deflect any mention that the Irish have won two out of the last three tests between the two sides.

"Not really," said assistant coach Ian Foster when asked about that fact.

"How you use the past is interesting. You gather information from past wins and losses, but really it's about not going in with too many assumptions, seeing what turns up and reacting accordingly.

"They are a quality team – we know that – they're very experienced. But so are we. We've got to go in and play with the cards we've been dealt this week and get excited about that."

Those cards weren’t exactly the ones that the team thought they’d be holding at the start of the tournament. Thanks to Japan’s stunning unbeaten run, the All Blacks now find themselves facing the dangerous Irish side instead of the predicted match up with Scotland.

Dane Coles was similarly blunt in his assessment of whether the past results would have a bearing on this Saturday’s game, and whether the Irish would have some tricks up their sleeve.

"They might have, they might not," he said.

"I'm not sure how they're thinking. They've obviously got a recipe to put us under pressure, but we all know that being in a World Cup is very different and both teams will make sure their focus is on this week instead of other games that have happened before."

The All Blacks and Ireland quarter final kicks off this Saturday night at Tokyo Stadium. The other quarters are England versus the Wallabies on Saturday, then the Sunday games are Wales against France before Japan take on the Springboks.