Top-ranked New Zealand will face fourth-ranked Ireland at Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo on Saturday, October 19. Kickoff is at 19:15 local (06:15 ET) In the U.S, the match may be viewed on-demand on NBC Sports Gold and in Canada on TSN 1 and 4.
New Zealand
New Zealand Head Coach Steve Hansen has numerous changes from the squad selected for the canceled match against Italy due to Typhoon Hagibis.
Kieran Read returns to captain the side and gains his 125th cap. Ardie Savea and Sam Cane join Read in the back-row. The All Blacks have a powerful yet mobile front-row of Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, and Nepo Laulala with Brodie Retallick and Samuel Whitelock rounding out the tight five at lock.
In the backs, Richie Mo’unga continues at flyhalf with Beauden Barrett at fullback. Aaron Smith will pair with Mo’unga, while Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue start in the center with George Bridge and Sevu Reece on the wing.
Ireland
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has named 12 of the starting XV that beat New Zealand in Dublin last November in the hopes of a repeat in Tokyo on Saturday.
Rob Kearney and Peter O’Mahony will start at full-back and blindside flanker respectively, with Jordan Larmour and Tadhg Beirne moving to the bench.
Half-backs Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton will start their 56th test together, which will surpass the Irish record set by Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara.
Garry Ringrose replaces the suspended Bundee Aki at outside-center with Robbie Henshaw moving to inside-center.
In the forwards, Rory Best will captain the team from hooker with Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong joining him in the front row. Iain Henderson and James Ryan are the locks with Peter O’Mahony and Josh Van der Flier the flankers and CJ Stander at No.8.
Squads
New Zealand: 1 Joe Moody, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Nepo Laulala, 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 6 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 8 Kieran Read (capt.), 9 Aaron Smith, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 11 George Bridge, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 13 Jack Goodhue, 14 Sevu Reece, 15 Beauden Barrett 16 Dane Coles, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Jordie Barrett
Ireland: 1 Cian Healy, 2 Rory Best (capt.), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Iain Henderson, 5 James Ryan, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Josh Van der Flier, 8 CJ Stander, 9 Conor Murray, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 13 Garry Ringrose, 14 Keith Earls, 15 Rob Kearney 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Pascal Gauzere (France), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
Other Articles
DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.
