Ex-All Black bullish over New Zealand’s chances

Former All Black Andy Ellis is relishing their rare position of being underdogs as they prepare to face a ‘confident’ Ireland side on Saturday.

For one of the few times in their history, New Zealand’s opponents go into a Test match as favourites for the victory.

Andy Farrell’s men are the world’s number one side and have been mightily impressive in the tournament so far, defeating both South Africa and Scotland to top Pool B.

Huge expectation in Ireland

That set up an encounter with the three-time champions in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, where Ireland are almost expected to reach the semi-finals.

Ellis recently visited Dublin for a few hours before heading to Paris and found that the Irish were very optimistic over their chances.

“That’s what I felt from the people in Dublin with this air of confidence. They’re like, ‘why would we not win it, we’ve won 17 straight, we’ve beaten the All Blacks away from home, it’s our time,’” he told The Platform.

“They truly believe this is the one they can get. I don’t mind that as an All Blacks supporter because I know that we’re class too.

“We’ll sneak up on a team like this and hopefully smack them right where they need it.

“From when I sat on the plane, every row was talking about the game. When I landed and showed my passport to Irish passport control, they said: ‘Where are you going to be next Monday?’ I said: ‘Paris’, and they said: ‘no you’re not, you’re going to be home’.

“So in Dublin, when we landed there… the whole place has come to a standstill. They see this as uniting a country.”

The All Blacks may not be favourites for this game, but Ellis feels there is something positive building in the New Zealand camp.

They were impressive in their victory over Italy while the jersey still gives off a certain aura, according to the ex-international scrum-half.

“Game for the ages”

“That black jersey is something so special. You put it on and there is a sense of belief we should win, that’s how it feels,” he added.

“It doesn’t just happen like that, but it’s nice to have that confidence to have known what has gone on before.

“That’s what this group here will be feeling. This is a massive statement game for us, I really believe this could be one of the greatest ever All Black chapters with what has happened in the last 18 months.

“To go out and put a massive performance in this weekend and beat a pretty confident Irish team, it’s going to be a game for the ages.

“For the Irish, I think this is probably the biggest game in their rugby history. If they beat the All Blacks, they should go on to make the final and have a pretty good shot at that.”