NEW ZEALAND are not exactly the ideal visitors for a team scrambling for form and confidence, but All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith is of the belief Ireland are far from the fading force their results would suggest.

Ireland U-20 Captain Rhys Ruddock has cut short his involvement in the Junior World Championships in Argentina after being called up to join the Ireland tour squad in New Zealand following injury to John Muldoon and Jamie Heaslip’s suspension.

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll has warned Wales they will need to slow down New Zealand’s quick ruck ball if they are to stand a chance of winning their opening Test against the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday.

BALANCE.

ON a night when no Irish player dared hold their head high walking away from the Yarrow Stadium, there were nonetheless a few in green who could have justifiably done so.

DECLAN KIDNEY last night plucked a rookie back row all the way from Argentina after suspension and injury depleted a squad still dazed from Saturday’s dispiriting defeat to the All Blacks in New Plymouth.

Jamie Heaslip’s five-week ban capped off a sorry weekend in New Plymouth for the Ireland rugby team.

Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip has been cited for striking during the heavy 66-28 loss to New Zealand and will face a hearing in New Plymouth tomorrow.

UNFAILINGLY first to any party, Irish fans haven’t failed to live up to their billing when it comes to the Rugby World Cup. In the long line for tickets for the greatest show in Test rugby, it seems we’re well ahead of the rest.

In 15 months’ time, Ireland will kick-off their World Cup campaign against the United States at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth – the venue of Saturday’s Test against New Zealand.

A bout of vertigo has hampered Brian O'Driscoll's final preparations for Saturday's showdown with New Zealand, but the Ireland skipper is confident he will be fit for the game in New Plymouth.

THE stunning snow-capped peak of Mount Taranaki looms over New Plymouth almost as forebodingly as history will loom over Ireland here tomorrow night.

Daniel Carter’s self-proclaimed “patchy” form in the Super 14 has not lulled Ireland into a false sense of security heading into Saturday’s one-off Test against New Zealand.

Gert Smal is confident the Ireland pack have the power to match New Zealand in Saturday’s Test in New Plymouth.

WITH another former Cork minor star making some serious waves across the Tasman Sea, Tomás O’Leary is out to strike another blow for the Rebel alumni in New Zealand this weekend.

HOOKER Sean Cronin believes his decision to leave Munster and head to Connacht has paid dividends after he was named in Ireland’s starting line-up for their Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

Hooker Sean Cronin believes his decision to leave Munster and head to Connacht has paid dividends after he was named in Ireland’s starting line-up for their one-off Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

Israel Dagg, Benson Stanley and Ben Franks will make their New Zealand Test debuts against Ireland on Saturday after being named in a new-look starting line-up for the one-off match in New Plymouth.

Ronan O’Gara staved off the challenge of Jonathan Sexton to claim the fly-half spot for Ireland’s one-off Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

THE All Blacks have vowed to repay fans with an entertaining style of rugby against Ireland after they were mobbed for a second straight day in Taranaki.

Ireland management says the decision not to spend the entire build-up to Saturday’s Test against New Zealand in New Plymouth was primarily based on player welfare.

AS THE Ireland squad jetted in through the South Seas squall enveloping Auckland yesterday, it was a good thing they chose Singapore Airlines rather than the country’s host carrier, Air New Zealand, for the mammoth journey.

THE IRFU is planning a third fixture between the tests against New Zealand and Australia when Ireland head Down Under next summer.

THE new Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road will open with a pair of football and rugby blockbusters.

GARETH THOMAS fell asleep watching the Lions play Taranaki on Wednesday night but he insisted it was no reflection on the quality of rugby being beamed into his Auckland hotel room.

Taranaki 14 Lions 36

THE sight of a giant second row with a mop of ginger hair marauding all over the lineout and stealing opposition ball is something the British & Irish Lions are counting on as a major weapon in their armoury during this tour.

The British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in the summer of 2005 will consist of 10 matches, including a three-Test series against the All Blacks.

When 19th century English settlers first arrived in Taranaki they found the region almost entirely deserted after the Maori had been forced south by tribal invasion threats from neighbouring Waikato.

In announcing Phil Vickery as captain of the England second string, Clive Woodward today did more than simply name the side that will take on the New Zealand Maori on Monday night.