Scott Robertson makes light of six-day Twickenham-Aviva turnaround as he previews Ireland v New Zealand

Scott Robertson played for the All Blacks from 1998-02 and was appointed coach in November 2023, his first games coming in 2024.

He seems full of the joys of life and is still smiling following a last gasp win over England at Twickenham last week.

Maybe he doesn't have any idea of just what's in store on Friday night, just how wound up Ireland are, just how much the IRFU have planned to bring the stadium to life, just how long Andy Farrell has been planning this (13 months).

READ MORE: Hugo Keenan is on his way to being first-choice Lions full-back says man he replaced

READ MORE: The Garry Ringrose stat that should have Ireland fans excited ahead of All Blacks clash

"I've had some contact with Andy, yeah," he says, "but I've never met him in person."

"It is easy to understand playing Ireland at the Aviva will be difficult. Ireland are the world's no1 ranked side.

“It’s right up there with the Springboks in Jo'burg, isn’t it?

"Both are teams that are on top of their game, the match is away from home, full house, ferocious history, especially now. Yeah, it is right up there.”

Sign up for our Rugby news service on Whats App

Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest rugby news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Did he notice Ireland had picked a team just for the 'now', just to try and win with everything else subservient, forward-planning out the window, just for revenge?

“Ooh, that’s a hell of a question," he says. "As soon as we saw it was a Friday night here we realized how immense this game was and, like I said, with the history of it this is another chapter.

“You look over all Ireland's Test matches over the last year maybe, you look at the strength of their teams and the players in the group and, you know, they can hold the ball and they can put pressure on you with the kick game.

"They're on the top of the world. They are a pretty handy team, aren't they? You respect all the parts of their game and you look for opportunities.”

And so the All Blacks have a new-ish coach with, ostensibly, a new team trying to rebuild and not carrying anything like the aura previous sides have.

The bookies think Ireland are 2/5 favourites and will win the game by seven or more points.

Moreover, maybe they never got Declan Kidney or Leo Cullen's dire warnings about six-day turnarounds in the NZ media.

The All Blacks played last Saturday against England and Robertson has resisted the temptation to bring in players from a bench that gave his side so impact last week - that essentially won the game.

“Yeah, what we sort of learned over this year to here is that the continuity part is really important and the guys that have come off and done it, they continue to be asked to do it.

"So there is no need to change for the sake, the players had a good week, and as I said, you know, you turn up on a Monday and until Friday, you keep the cohesion going.”

"We just need to be really clear about how we’re gonna play, understand the strength of Ireland, and get excited and focused on a great match on Friday night.”

As it stands, Robertson has rolled over 13 of the side that started against England.

The two changes are enforced as hooker Codie Taylor and out-half Beauden Barrett are ruled out due following taking knocks to the head (adhering to stand down protocols).

Asafo Aumua starts at no2 with Damian McKenzie taking the No 10 jersey.

New Zealand: Will Jordan; Mark Tele'a, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima; Tamaiti Williams, Asafo Aumua, Tyrel Lomax, Scott Barrett (capt), Tupou Vaa’i, Wallace Sititi, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea

Subs; George Bell, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Pasilio Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown, Stephen Perofeta

Sign up for the latest sport news from our Irish Mirror sport newsletter here and receive special updates on the Ireland rugby team during the November internationals.