The teams are in the tunnel and they'll be entering an amphitheatre of noise.

Here we go!

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Inpho

Ireland wing Mack Hansen has won his race to be fit for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand.

Hansen hurt his calf win in last week's win over Scotland but has recovered in time to start against the All Blacks, while James Ryan is ruled out.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell's starting line-up is unchanged from last weekend's Pool B win over Scotland.

There are two changes on the bench with lock Joe McCarthy and Jimmy O'Brien called in.

Hansen's calf issue meant he missed some training this week, so his availability is a major boost for the world's number one side ahead of Saturday's knockout match.

Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Sexton (capt), Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; Beirne, Henderson; O'Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, Bealham, McCarthy, Conan, Murray, Crowley, O'Brien.

Image source, Inpho

Johnny Sexton says Ireland are preparing for the "toughest game we've ever faced" in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand.

Ireland's run of 17 straight Test wins has them top of the global rankings but Sexton says taking on the three-time world champions will be a huge task.

"I've had some great battles against New Zealand over the years," he said.

"What you learn is that every game is as tough as the last no matter what the result is."

Fifteen months ago, Ireland fought back from a 42-19 First Test hammering in Auckland to clinch a historic series triumph in New Zealand and the Irish have won four of the last six meetings between the countries.

However, Sexton says the Irish will be facing a "different" All Blacks in Paris as they attempt to get past the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.

"That's what we're preparing for. We're preparing for the toughest game we've ever faced and we're trying to put ourselves in a frame of mind that we're going to be ready for it," added the 38-year-old who will retire from rugby after playing at his fourth World Cup.

Tell us this game is in Paris without telling us this game is in Paris...

Image source, Inpho

Image source, Inpho

Winger Mark Telea has been dropped by New Zealand for Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Ireland over a breach of team protocol.

Telea, who made his All Blacks debut against Scotland last November, has scored three tries in two matches during the World Cup.

Leicester Fainga'anuku will take the 26-year-old's place on the wing.

"He breached protocol, nothing major but it kept him out of selection," said head coach Ian Foster.

When asked about the specifics of Telea's omission, Foster added: "It says volumes about what we stand for and speaks volumes for the team.

"It happens, it is what it is. It was pretty clear cut and I do not want to talk about it any more."

New Zealand: B Barrett; Jordan, Ioane, J Barrett, Fainga'anuku; Mo'unga, Smith; De Groot, Taylor, Lomax, Retallick, S Barrett, Frizell, Cane, Savea.

Replacements: Coles, Williams, Newell, Whitelock, Papali'i, Christie, McKenzie, Lienert-Brown.

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All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith started all three Tests against Ireland last summer. He would not go as far as to say he is thirsty for revenge, but he did warn Ireland to expect a "totally different" New Zealand in the French capital this weekend.

He also said New Zealand are treating Saturday like a World Cup final in a telling insight into how seriously they are taking this challenge.

"Last year matters in the sense of taking the learnings," Smith told reporters in Paris.

"But I believe we're a totally different team to July last year. We've got new coaches and as a group that series really galvanised us, and yeah, I can't wait for Saturday to see what happens.

"If you're held down by the weight of the past, you won't be able to do anything, you won't be able to play well, you'll be too scared to do anything, to try things, to trust your instincts."

Chris Henry
Former Ireland flanker on BBC Radio Ulster

They are called the 'mighty All Blacks' for a reason, but how 'mighty' are they still?

New Zealand came into the tournament under the radar a bit and started with a big loss to France.

It is our best chance ever of beating them and on such an important occasion at this stage of the tournament.

It is going to be an epic battle, but Ireland certainly are in such an unbelievable place.

Hello, old friend.

Joe Schmidt has been doing the rounds with his former team.

Image source, Inpho

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI at Stade de France

Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt just had a wee chat on the pitch. Hands in pockets, friendly smiles. Pretty casual stuff. They could've easily been two mates bumping into one another in a coffee shop.

Farrell worked under Schmidt during the Kiwi's time with Ireland, of course, so they surely have plenty to catch up on.

They part ways with a shake of the hands and tend to their respective teams.

Schmidt's involvement with the All Blacks is a fascinating sub-plot and Farrell would love nothing more than to get one over on his old boss.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Inpho

Head coach Andy Farrell says Ireland have learned how to become comfortable with being the world's number one side as they prepare to face New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Irish reclaimed top spot with last year's series win over the All Blacks.

New Zealand have spent the most time atop the rankings, but many people consider Ireland marginal favourites for Saturday's knockout match in Paris.

Farrell was asked about being "top dog" after naming his team on Wednesday.

"I suppose an inferiority complex is what's happened in the past, as far as getting to world number one and thinking that we're going to fall off a cliff, because this shouldn't be happening to Ireland," said the Englishman.

"I think what we've learned to do is throw ourselves into big challenges and try to meet them head on and embrace that."

Ireland have shown no signs of struggling with the number one tag over the last 15 months. They have won 17 Tests in a row, bagged a Six Nations Grand Slam and claimed a statement win over world champions South Africa earlier in this tournament.

Image source, Inpho

Both Ireland's players and support have found themselves at home at the Stade de France and it will likely be no different this evening.

The travelling support has been exceptional so far, and has no doubt helped to fuel Ireland's bid for World Cup glory.

The post-match scenes, with Zombie by the Cranberries becoming the team's unofficial anthem, have been really, really special as a sea of green took over Paris.

Will there be more of that this evening?

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For Ireland, it's been a case of so far, so good.

The scheduling of the fixtures allowed Andy Farrell's side to build up a head of steam in Pool B, and they started with bonus-point wins over Romania and Tonga.

South Africa were always likely to be the trickiest match, and it proved to be the case. The Springboks threw everything at them but Ireland came away 18-13 winners.

Despite their winning run, the Irish still needed to see off Scotland in their final match and they did so with ease, running out 36-14 winners.

Will they continue their fine form?

New Zealand lost to France in their World Cup opener and let's just say they took it personally....

The All Blacks scored 36 tries in their next three matches - taking them to 38 for the tournament.

Poor old Namibia were on the receiving end of 11 tries, Italy conceded 14 tries and 96 points before the All Blacks dotted down 11 more times against Uruguay.

Ireland are next highest on the list with 27 in four matches. Wowza.

We should be seeing plenty of points tonight, anyway...

Image source, Inpho

Image source, Getty Images

The All Blacks looked destined for second place in Pool A after their opening-night defeat by hosts France.

That was a cracker, and set the tone for what has been a brilliant tournament.

The Kiwis have probably taken that anger from the French defeat on the rest of Pool A.

They hammered Namibia 71-3 before thrashing Italy, who are a decent side, 96-17.

A 73-0 win over Uruguay wrapped up the pool stage action. It's safe to say bigger tests await...

Image source, Inpho

Now that Ireland have reached the World Cup knockout stages once again, the squad can essentially be split in two: those who have experienced the heartache of a quarter-final defeat and those who bear no scar tissue.

Conor Murray falls into the first category. Now a veteran of four World Cups, the Munster scrum-half is one of the players who, over the next 48 hours or so, will try to push the events of Ireland's past out of his mind.

"We've talked about it and people have talked about what we've done over the last number of years, about the level of performance we've been able to achieve, and the big wins, and things like that," said the 34-year-old, who will start tonight's quarter-final among the replacements with Jamison Gibson-Park retained at nine.

"There is massive belief in terms of the ability we have in the squad, and what we can do.

"On the other side, there's enough of us in the room that have been through these quarter-finals and know how tough they are to win. It all comes down to on the day.

"We've done good things over the past few years. There's probably a bit more built up behind us in terms of what we've done. So yeah, we feel in a good space in terms of what we can deliver."

BBC Sounds

You can listen to tonight's game live on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Orla Bannon and former Ireland wing Craig Gilroy are live on your airwaves from 19:30 BST.

Ex-Ireland flanker Chris Henry and Jim Neilly are on commentary from the Stade de France, so you won't miss a thing!

For 5 Live, former Ireland wing Tommy Bowe and ex-New Zealand fly-half Andrew Mehrtens are the experts alongside commentator Sara Orchard.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI at Stade de France

This is it. This is what Ireland have been building towards for four years: another crack at the All Blacks in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Speak to just about anyone around a fairly grey Paris and they'll tell you Ireland are just favourites.

It's never really happened before. In 2019, there was a strange collective acceptance that Ireland would be swept aside by New Zealand at this stage, and so it proved.

There's no denying this feels different, though, and with another vast ocean of green jersey expected through the Stade de France gates, this will once again feel like a home match for Andy Farrell's side.

Seventeen wins in a row, 29 in their last 31. A series win over New Zealand. A Grand Slam. It's all come down to this. Bottling quarter-finals has been Ireland's most unfortunate habit down the years. It's about time it came to an end.

Image source, Inpho

Winning on home turf is one thing (and although Chicago was 'neutral' it may as well have been in Dublin given the swell of Irish support in the USA), but victory in New Zealand is an entirely different prospect.

After their previous wins - although New Zealand had their victories since 2016 which included a thumping 46-14 World Cup quarter-final win in 2019 - there was a feeling that Ireland's three-game tour last year was going to be massive for Andy Farrell's squad.

It looked like that hope was misplaced when four tries in 17 first-half minutes helped New Zealand emphatically preserve their remarkable 28-year unbeaten run at Eden Park with a six-try win.

However, Farrell's men hit back as Andrew Porter scored a try in each half to help Ireland secure that historic 23-12 first win on Kiwi soil after the All Blacks were hit by Angus Ta'avao's red card.

There was better to come. In the deciding Test Ireland produced a near-faultless first half to open up a 19-point lead in Wellington.

New Zealand hit back but Rob Herring's try gave the Irish the breathing room required to see the game out and secure a first series win.

The emotion etched across the players' faces said it all, and there was a feeling that this was much more than a Tour victory.

It was one of the greatest achievements in Irish rugby history - but this group wanted more.

Image source, INpho

New Zealand hit back to triumph in Dublin just two weeks after the Chicago game, but in 2018 at the Aviva Stadium, it was Ireland's turn to roar.

Jacob Stockdale's now-iconic try was the highlight on a famous night, with his chip and chase coming off to perfection to send the Irish support into raptures.

Johnny Sexton kicked the rest of Ireland's points, making amends for a painful missed penalty in the heartbreaking 2013 defeat.

As you would expect, New Zealand came hard and heavy as they looked to hit back, but Ireland were so impressive they managed to stop the visitors scoring a try, with Beauden Barrett kicking their nine points.

Another milestone reached. Another box ticked.