Rhys Ruddock looks set to miss Ireland's Six Nations match against Italy in Rome on Sunday.

A second win over the All Blacks in the last three meetings is a significant enough achievement for Ireland but what is even more satisfying is the team which got the job done this time around.

This was a very different kind of glory to Chicago.

Chicago, November 2016 will forever be seared into the minds of Irish rugby supporters, for obvious reasons. The place and time of a first victory over New Zealand in 111 years has that effect and it was a moment to be savoured.

First impression in Blanchardstown yesterday was that the All Blacks were just flat out trolling their hosts.

It mightn’t be the Six Nations but in a World Cup year, the autumn series of Tests is what GAA fans feel at the start of the national leagues every spring, writes Ronan O'Gara

Joe Schmidt has warned Chicago hat-trick hero Jordan Larmour he faces a big step up in challenge when he starts at full-back for Ireland against Argentina on Saturday.

With an average of 13 internationals now scheduled in a single season, it’s clear that some tests rank higher than others, writes Donal Lenihan

With an average of 13 internationals now scheduled in a single season, it’s clear that some tests rank higher than others, writes Donal Lenihan

You would imagine Chicago will hold a special place in Tadhg Beirne’s heart for quite some time after his double try-scoring first start for Ireland at the weekend.

The victory was emphatic as Ireland routed Italy by eight tries to one at Soldier Field on Saturday. Yet while the performance was far from perfect that was exactly what Joe Schmidt expected when he selected a young side for this mission.

Simon Lewis picks out three players who put their hands up...

Simon Lewis This is why he came home.

The door has been opened for Ireland’s World Cup hopefuls and Joe Schmidt will be hoping the likes of Joey Carbery, Niall Scannell, and Tadhg Beirne can grasp the opportunity presented to them and take a confident step towards Japan this weekend.

Should Ireland’s call come today for Joey Carbery to start at number 10 on Saturday, it stands to reason he will be in a better position to prove his worth in the role than he was this summer.

To his team-mates, Ian McKinley is an inspiration, but as the Irishman turned Italian prepares to face his old friends at Soldier Field, this Saturday’s Test is not about him but the Azzurri doing themselves proud against Six Nations rivals.

If we’ve learned anything from Netflix TV series, sports podcasts and purveyors of fancy doughnuts, it’s that you can have too much of a good thing. What is at first new and exciting can soon become bewilderingly oversaturated, and soon you have no idea what’s good anymore, or indeed, what to listen to while you are queuing at the Krispy Kreme drive-thru, writes Tommy Martin.

Ireland are hopeful that Rob Kearney will overcome the shoulder injury he suffered at the weekend in time for November’s Guinness Series of Test matches.

Leinster’s defence of their Champions Cup title is set for an early boost with the expected returns from injury of an influential back row trio comprising of Sean O’Brien, Josh van der Flier, and Dan Leavy.

Andrew Trimble last night called time on an illustrious playing career with Ulster and Ireland by announcing he will retire at the end of the season.

Maybe the most remarkable thing about Rob Kearney’s new IRFU contract, confirmed yesterday along with extensions for Irish team-mates Rory Best and Iain Henderson, is the lack of discussion that has shadowed its signing.

The Georgia Dome, the stadium in Atlanta that hosted 1996 Olympic events and which was the venue for two Super Bowls, has been reduced to rubble in an implosion.

Ireland take one more step along the road in Dublin this evening when their credentials as one of the world’s top four teams are tested by old rivals South Africa.

A lot has happened to Joey Carbery in the year since his remarkable Test debut in that historic victory over the All Blacks in Chicago, though not enough to stop his drive to become one of the best players in the world.

Eoin O’Callaghan on the curious friendship between a boxing legend and a Nobel Prize winning author.

IRFU CEO Philip Browne has revealed Ireland are open to another showdown with New Zealand in Chicago.

Tadhg Furlong has warned the British and Irish Lions to prepare for the "most brutal" Test match of their careers in Saturday's series decider with New Zealand.

The sight of the battleship England hoving into view, all guns blazing and with plenty of ammunition still left to unleash, might remind Irish supporters of when the All Blacks landed in Chicago last November.

Ireland captain Rory Best has warned his side they will have to play better than they did to beat the All Blacks if they want to get their 2017 RBS 6 Nations campaign off to a winning start in Scotland next week.

With three wins, including a first over New Zealand, November has been a hugely encouraging month for Joe Schmidt and Irish rugby in general. So what were the major discussion points?

Rory Best believes Ireland have filled the "void" between the northern and southern hemispheres with their historic autumn Test series.

Josh van der Flier could have kept mum but that would have meant surrendering to 36 hours or so of mental torture until the inevitable moment when Joe Schmidt stopped the tape and zeroed in on his botched offload deep in the New Zealand 22.

Ireland aim to right the wrongs of their losing performance against the All Blacks when Australia roll into the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Ireland 9 New Zealand 21: Perhaps feeling battered, bruised and not a little hard done by is a sign Ireland have finally arrived on the world stage as a force to be reckoned with.

Less on the scoreboard than in Soldier Field maybe, but Saturday’s renewal between Ireland and New Zealand matched the drama of Chicago in pretty much every other way and even sprinkled a painful dose of controversial incidents along the way with it.

The key moment, talking point and key man from the clash at the Aviva.

Ireland go once more unto the breach against New Zealand in Dublin this evening, armed with the confidence of having at last beaten the world champions but under no illusions about the challenge of beating them twice in a row.