Hansen talks up ‘tenacious’ Ireland in show of mutual respect

Ireland’s tenacity versus New Zealand’s ruthlessness. Take the two head coaches and ask them to pick out the characteristic they most admire in their opponents ahead of tomorrow’s World Cup and their answers provide an excellent taste of the contest awaiting us at Tokyo Stadium.

Steve Hansen and Joe Schmidt unveiled their matchday squads yesterday and though they were in different parts of the Japanese capital they were united by a common theme of mutual respect.