All Blacks half-back TJ Perenara on what keeps driving him and reveals why the players are the closest they've ever been on this tour. Video / All Blacks
How good to have a sense of jeopardy in the air?
It has been five long weeks since any genuine sense of uncertainty accompanied the All Blacks.
Successive tests against the world champion Springboks that bookended the Rugby Championship on October 2 seem a lifetime ago.
Professional sport, as anentertainment product, is best served with a hearty dose of friction, doubt, suspense. Mismatches are the antithesis to intrigue.
No one is gripped by 100-point wallopings or spectacles determined long before kick-off. That was the case as the All Blacks ventured to the US, Cardiff and Rome in recent weeks.
The financial imperatives of staging money-spinning tests outside the designated windows cannot be dismissed, and to be fair the All Blacks delivered one of their best performances of the year against weakened Six Nations champions Wales, who were denied access to their English-based players for that fixture.
As many fringe prospects discovered last week it's one thing to shine against a third-rate US team; quite another to face a committed Six Nations side, even one of Italy's lowly status. Don't turn up mentally, and you will pay the price.
Ian Foster's first-choice team will confront a similar size step up from Cardiff to Dublin where Ireland, at full strength and growing in confidence under Andy Farrell, promise to provide one of the toughest tests of the season.
Beauden Barrett knows how tough the Irish will be this weekend. Photo / Photosport
Gauging the All Blacks to this point is difficult. While they appear to have made significant progress from last year's maiden term under Foster and built depth in most positions, the final two weeks of this tour will shape that narrative.
Serious questions remain about the midfield dynamics; the All Blacks' ability to cope with teams disrupting their breakdown, constantly challenging their attacking intent with rush defence and testing them under the high ball.
Selection, tactics, mental resolve will all be put under the spotlight, examined to their greatest degree since the Springboks tests, in Dublin.
No matter the opposition, the All Blacks are expected to win. That's the nature of the beast; the burden of history.
Recent history, however, also points to Ireland demanding the utmost respect. Somewhat lost in their expansive 60-5 victory over Japan last week was the most impressive element of the result – their defence.
In this regard, an All Blacks team that in areas such as the midfield, loose forwards and wings are still figuring out their best combinations will need to embrace supreme attacking patience and accuracy.
Ireland are a team that will require the All Blacks to be at the peak of their powers; to win the collisions, maintain discipline and secure clean set piece ball. Fail in one of those aspects, and a torrid evening awaits.
TJ Perenara in action during the All Blacks' last meeting against Ireland at the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. Photo / Photosport
Having been involved in the past five tests against Ireland since 2013, starting four of those, Beauden Barrett has a fair idea what to expect.
"It's certainly going to be tight, physical with a lot of tactics being played. That's test footy. You can't get too cute with it you've got to win the battle upfront and earn the right to do those things," Barrett said. "It will be something like we've seen in recent years I'm picking.
"We'd be foolish not to learn from these previous games. They're a serious side. I've got so much respect for them. We know how physical they are and the arm wrestle they like to get into. They're technically sound but very good tacticians. Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton run a good cutter so we're going to have to work hard to break this team down."
If there is one positive to be gleaned from their last three one-sided fixtures it's the All Blacks, through wider squad rotation, have managed fatigue which should leave this weekend's starters fresh.
TJ Perenara also suggested a 14-week tour that could have taken a heavy mental toll, while away from families and confined to a restrictive Covid bubble throughout, has bonded the team together.
As the All Blacks prepare to encounter their first taste of true jeopardy in five weeks, every element helps.
"Especially off the field we're the closest we've ever been from my time in the environment," Perenara, the seven-year test veteran, said. "It's been a really unique time for us as a group and something that will build a foundation for us. I'm grateful for the time we've had both on and off the field.
"On the field we're in a really good spot, too. The challenge to play against Ireland this weekend at home is something we've all know has been on our calendar since we've come on this tour, and it's something in the back of our minds we've known it's going to be one of those big games where we come into a big arena against a really good team."
