Old Belvedere's Andrew Dunne and Dungannon flanker Andrew Hughes are the two new caps in Ireland's team to face New Zealand at the San Isidro Club in Buenos Aires today. The Irish team shows three changes from the original selection for the Argentina game and four from the starting line-up.
Blackrock College second row Robert Casey was a late withdrawal the last day, a matter of hours before the match, and he returns to partner Mick O'Driscoll in the second row. Former Irish schools' out-half Dunne is named on the right wing where he takes over from Dungannon's Jonathan Davis.
The former UCD student is very quick and given Dunne's rugby ability, coach Brian McLaughlin had no qualms about playing him out of position. Kevin Hartigan returns to the centre as Shane Horgan is suspended (one match) following his sending-off against Argentina. Hartigan played in Ireland's opening match against France and was ever present in the Six Nations.
Casey has fully recovered from both the ankle injury which forced him to retire after 13 minutes of the French game and a chest infection which prevented him from lining out the last day. Aidan Kearney, who proved a very able deputy, will drop to the replacements' bench, although those seven players have yet to be named.
Having studied videos of New Zealand's two games, McLaughlin recognised that the New Zealand Colts favour an expansive game and has therefore promoted the quicksilver Hughes in preference to Michael Haslett. The 19-year-old Dungannon youngster spent three years in the Irish Schools' squad and is an openside flanker in the tearaway mould.
Haslett has performed well in his two outings but McLaughlin felt that Hughes offers qualities that will be better suited to today's opposition.
The Irish players returned to the grind of training yesterday, spending the morning working at the match venue. There is an air of expectancy in the camp despite the realisation that they face their toughest opponents to date. New Zealand rested 11 first choice players in their 32-19 victory over France and indeed have managed to give their entire 28-man squad a slice of competitive fare in their two matches thus far.
Already assured of qualification, the New Zealanders are likely to plump for a composite side of first choice and fringe players. Their pattern is based on quick ruck ball, spread wide immediately or using the thrust of their powerful centres. As one would expect of any New Zealand side, they are extremely competent in the basics and ruthlessly efficient in grasping opportunities.
Ireland are unlikely to deviate greatly from the playing structure of solid, controlled rugby they employed against Argentina. First Jeremy Staunton and then Mark McHugh kicked intelligently for field position in the last game before looking to vary the focus of attack.
McLaughlin's men will have to replicate the defensive performance of the last day when their first up tackling was assured and authoritative. Should Ireland advance to the semi-finals, by whatever means, then they will face the winner of the South Africa-Australia clash, the match immediately preceding the Ireland game today.
Ireland has never beaten New Zealand at any international level, a point made to this team. The rewards would be enormous both for the players and the IRFU. Passage to the penultimate stage of the tournament would guarantee further games against Southern Hemisphere opposition and represent a remarkable achievement for an Ireland squad that travelled to Argentina without seven first choice players.
IRFU President Billy Lavery and national senior coach Warren Gatland arrived in Argentina yesterday and will watch the remainder of the tournament.
