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League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Leroy Carter has had a strong start for the All Blacks.Alamy Stock Photo Razor Sharp Some exciting new faces but Ireland to face familiar All Blacks side Leroy Carter, Simon Parker, and Fabian Holland are among those who have broken through. 7.01am, 26 Oct 2025 Share options NEW ZEALAND’S WIN over Ireland in Dublin in November 2024 felt like it might be the launchpad of the Scott Robertson era. The All Blacks had come off an up-and-down Rugby Championship in Razor’s first competition in charge, then started their autumn campaign with a narrow win over England, before coming to the Aviva Stadium and beating Ireland in steely fashion. Andy Farrell’s men were poor but New Zealand bossed the game with a smart, controlled game plan in which Damian McKenzie appeared to silence the doubters who questioned whether he could run the show from out-half. Yet, a full year on, some in New Zealand remain unsure whether Robertson is really the man to take the All Blacks back to where those Kiwis feel they should be – the top of the world. New Zealand are ranked second in World Rugby’s official list, to be fair. They only finished second to the Springboks in this year’s Rugby Championship on points difference. The top end of international rugby has rarely been so competitive. But expectations in New Zealand remain oppressively high. Robertson has a 74% win rate, better than predecessor Ian Foster’s 70%, but it seems as though every time this New Zealand team take a big step forward, there is cause for some doubt soon after. The fact that two of Robertson’s assistant coaches, Leon McDonald and Jason Holland, have decided to step away from the All Blacks has raised concern. Robertson explained that “it hasn’t quite clicked” when McDonald left last year, despite having intially signed a four-year contract with New Zealand Rugby. Holland will leave after the upcoming November Tests and said his decision was “just a bit of a gut feel.” New Zealand swept their July series against France 3-0 but that didn’t convince everyone. Fabien Galthié left many of his big guns at home for that tour, yet it only highlighted the enviable French depth as lots of fresh faces made a big impact. Joe Schmidt with Scott Roberston.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Kiwis survived a big scare in the opening Test to win by four points, hammered the French in the second game, then won another closer tussle in the third. Advertisement The Rugby Championship included some impressive wins, particularly the physical 24-17 victory over South Africa in Auckland, but there was also a big low with the 43-10 humbling at the hands of the Springboks just a week later in Wellington. New Zealand’s only other loss was in Argentina. They beat Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies twice and won their other game away to Los Pumas, so it was hardly a disastrous campaign. To be fair, the All Blacks themselves have invited just a little more expectation for the upcoming campaign against Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. They have been reminding everyone that this is a Grand Slam tour, although it only becomes that if they win all four games against the traditional ‘home nations.’ There have previously been Kiwi Grand Slam successes in 1978, 2005, 2008, and 2010. And this is the first chance to do it again since the 2010 tour. Whatever about the history, Robertson knows his team have to do their talking on the pitch. His cause wasn’t helped by the loss of second rows Patrick Tuipulotu and Tupou Vaa’i ahead of their departure to Chicago for the Ireland game, with those injuries meaning skipper Scott Barrett is even more important than usual. With tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax also missing through injury, Fletcher Newell seems likely to be at tighthead against Ireland, while 34-year-old hooker Codie Taylor remains first-choice, and the duo of Ethan de Groot and Tamaiti Williams provide punch at loosehead. Netherlands native Fabian Holland, who moved to New Zealand in his late teens, has had an impressive first season with the All Blacks and could partner Barrett in the second row. New Zealand second row Fabian Holland.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Ardie Savea remains as potent and important as ever in the back row. He’s now mainly used at openside rather than number eight, where Wallace Sititi is a powerful option along with Simon Parker and Peter Lakai. The tough, tall Parker is the incumbent at blindside flanker, starting there in the Kiwis’ most recent four games. The 25-year-old was a U20 international back in 2019 but had to wait until this season to become a clear starter for the Chiefs. He’s been hard to ignore. The daring, athletic scrum-half Cam Roigard missed most of the Rugby Championship with injury but returned for the closing two games and resumed his role as the starter at number nine, while the highly experienced Beauden Barrett has been out-half for seven of the All Blacks’ nine Tests this year, so he’s the favourite to continue there against Ireland. Robertson will be looking forward to the return of Richie Mo’unga from Japan next year, with his former Crusaders out-half deciding to come home to play at the 2027 World Cup. Inside centre Jordie Barrett will enjoy locking horns with lots of familiar faces next weekend in Chicago and is sure to be as integral to New Zealand’s tactics as ever. He has continued his world-class form since returning home. It remains to be seen who partners him in midfield. Hurricanes outside centre Billy Proctor – who debuted in 2024 – seemed to have the number 13 shirt locked down this year, but Quinn Tupaea did well there in New Zealand’s most recent game against Australia. Leinster-bound Rieko Ioane had been the incumbent at 13 before Proctor’s promotion, but his five starts for the All Blacks this year have all been on the left wing. Ioane hasn’t been at his best in 2025 and was dropped from Robertson’s matchday squad for two rounds of the Rugby Championship before returning on the bench against Australia earlier this month. Ioane has a spiky recent history with Ireland, so it will be intriguing to see if he fits in Razor’s plans next weekend. Rieko Ioane has fallen out of the starting XV recently.Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The thrilling Will Jordan is as big a threat as ever from fullback, while Chiefs wing Leroy Carter is the latest wing revelation for the Kiwis. The 26-year-old was a star for the New Zealand 7s until signing for the Chiefs ahead of this year’s Super Rugby campaign and making an instant impact. Robertson gave Carter his debut against South Africa in the fourth round of the Championship and he has three tries in his three starts so far. His upward trajectory could continue against Ireland, with the experienced Sevu Reece having fallen out of first-team favour during the Rugby Championship. Ioane, Caleb Clarke, and Leicester Faingaʻanuku seem to be in a battle for the left wing slot, where Carter and Reece can also play. Ireland are familiar with most of the players in Robertson’s set-up, even if the likes of Holland, Parker, Carter, and Proctor are relatively fresh faces. For the Kiwis, concerns in the second row might feel eerily similar to 2016 when they ended up with Jerome Kaino starting as a lock. Robertson knows that a win over the Irish would probably see him hailed as a genius back home in New Zealand. Defeat would inevitably lead to plenty of doom and gloom. In that sense, Razor and Faz probably have a lot in common. Murray Kinsella Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Some exciting new faces but Ireland to face familiar All Blacks side”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Some exciting new faces but Ireland to face familiar All Blacks side”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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