Crucial to that will be the performance of Nigel Owens with the whistle, whose games are known for their fast, free-flowing pace. However, Fitzgerald thinks that on occasion, this style of game stems from Owens letting things go at the breakdown - which he doesn't want to see happen against the back-to-back world champions. "New Zealand are very clever at playing the ref and I hope he doesn't fall for it." Ireland won the most recent meeting at the Aviva Stadium last November, and have won two of the four games played since Schmidt took charge in 2013. Fitzgerald thinks Ireland can make it three wins against New Zealand if they come out on top in a number of key areas.

Source: Irish Independent October 16, 2019 06:56 UTC