Ireland v New Zealand: Aaron Smith tells Irish to expect a 'totally different' All Blacks side

Smith (left) and Beauden Barrett (right) both started all three Tests against Ireland last summer

Saturday's World Cup quarter-final between familiar foes Ireland and New Zealand is rich in sub-plots, one of which is the quest for revenge on both sides of the fence.

While Ireland are out to avenge 2019's quarter-final hammering by the All Blacks, the southern hemisphere giants are driven by the desire to banish the stinging memories of last summer's home Test series against Andy Farrell's side.

In that series, Ireland bounced back from losing the opener to win the remaining two Tests and triumph on a tour of New Zealand for the first time. It was a landmark achievement for Ireland and a dark time for the All Blacks.

The Irish did not stop there. With a 17-match winning run (which began with last year's 23-12 win in the second Test in Dunedin) and a Grand Slam in the bag, they are considered by many as marginal favourites to win the hugely anticipated knockout match in Paris and reach the semi-finals for the first time.

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."

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Ireland went 111 years without beating New Zealand. They finally broke through in Chicago in November 2016 and have gone on to win four of the past seven meetings, including three of four under Farrell to signal a shift at the top of the game.

The Irish, however, have never won a knockout match at the World Cup, whereas the All Blacks have lifted the Webb Ellis Cup on three occasions and have only exited at the quarter-final stage once, in 2007.

A second last-eight elimination certainly seems possible, especially given New Zealand's recent defeats by South Africa and France, both of whom are below Ireland in the world rankings.

But Smith, who scored two of New Zealand's tries in the 2019 quarter-final win over Ireland in Tokyo, insisted he is driven not by the fear of failure, but the chance to write a new chapter in his team's illustrious history.

"My energy is pushed towards more the opportunity that's in front of us," said the 34-year-old, who was part of New Zealand's 2015 World Cup triumph.

"The excitement of what we can control as a group.

"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."

Smith, who made his All Blacks debut in a 42-10 win over Ireland in 2012, added: "Being free, being energised with intent - and there's plenty of intent and want this weekend.

"I don't think there's the burden or the statistics or the weight on us like that. It's a final at a World Cup for us and we're ready to go."

'Schmidt has helped us quite a bit'

Schmidt and All Blacks head coach Ian Foster are hoping to outsmart Andy Farrell and the Irish coaches on Saturday

Ireland's first two wins over the All Blacks were masterminded by Joe Schmidt. Now, as New Zealand's attack coach, the 58-year-old is tasked with getting one over on his former side, a sub-plot which has generated much interest this week.

While Schmidt's six-year tenure with Ireland ended ignominiously with that 2019 quarter-final defeat, he laid the foundations for Ireland's success under Farrell, winning the Grand Slam in 2018 before claiming a series win in Australia.

When asked how Schmidt has improved the All Blacks, centre Rieko Ioane said: "Joe just sees the game in a very detailed view.

"Especially with us backs, his work in noticing trends in other teams' attack and defence is what separates him, and just the detail he goes into.

"For us, trying to find those one per cents can be quite hard, but with Joe he makes the view of the game a lot easier by the way he understands it.

"He's definitely helped us quite a bit."

On working with Schmidt, Smith said: "He always has clips to show you if you ask, so you've got to be careful what you ask because it could cost you 20 minutes.

"But the last 18 months, I've really enjoyed connecting with him.

"He sees the positives in your own skillsets, so doubles down on that, and a lot of the stuff is around just effort."

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