All Blacks backs coach Jason Holland believes Damian McKenzie, one of his side's heroes in the dramatic victory over England at Twickenham, has the requisite temperament and trickery to play a similar role from the start against Ireland at Dublin.
With Beauden Barrett following concussion protocols and unavailable for the Test at Aviva Stadium on Saturday morning NZT, McKenzie, the replacement who kicked what turned out to be the winning conversion from the sideline in last weekend's 24-22 win over the English, will wear the No.10 jersey in what is now one of the toughest assignments in the game.
Ireland, the world No.1 side, have been lying in wait for 12 months for an opportunity to gain revenge for their World Cup quarter-final defeat to the All Blacks and will attack and defend with an intensity which will likely be several levels up from what New Zealand experienced in southwest London.
McKenzie's flair is undeniable but his inability to lead the All Blacks around the field with his kicking game in the first eight Tests of the year is what led the selectors to pick Barrett ahead of him against England.
Barrett troubled the English with his probing cross-kicks and chips over the top of the defence and McKenzie will be expected to follow suit while keeping Ireland guessing with his running game.
"He's a threat whenever he gets the ball and he showed his temperament when he kicked that conversion," Holland said of McKenzie.
"Like everyone, there's a little bit to do around applying pressure and how we stay on top. But, mate, he's going well and is a good threat for the Irish to worry about."
Holland, who coached Munster and lived in Cork for just over a decade — both his daughters were born there — before returning to coach the Hurricanes, knows the Irish rugby mentality better than most.
He was an interested viewer of the All Blacks XV victory over Munster at Thomond Park at the weekend and knows what to expect in Dublin.
"Some of the lines they run, the multiple lines on attack, I really enjoy that. Like any Irish side, they've built on their workrate and ability to go to war for each other and that hasn't changed over the years."
Of the growing rivalry with Ireland, which began in earnest in 2016 when the Irish beat the All Blacks for the first time and reached boiling point in 2022 when they won a series in New Zealand for the first time, Holland said: "I suppose the rivalry is built on how competitive the games are. There hasn't been much over the past couple of years between the two teams. I think it's a real healthy competitive nature."
Ireland felt aggrieved by the comments of some All Blacks after last year's quarter-final, including from Reiko Ioane and Brodie Retallick, and so may feel a little more strongly than that, but there was an element of payback from New Zealand after some comments by the Irish in Wellington a year earlier.
Wing Caleb Clarke, for one, believes the All Blacks have moved on.
"For us the quarter-final has been pushed aside and we're really just focusing on what's to come — a strong Irish team with strong Irish supporters," he said. "We'll be ready."
Clarke, and right wing Mark Tele'a, are other near certainties to be selected this week, with Holland acknowledging wing is an area of strength.
"It's a strong competition," he said. "The boys have been competing pretty hard — Caleb, Sevu [Reece] and Mark. It continues to be a good competition and it's a good place to be — they've just got to keep performing and hold on to the 11 or 14 jersey."
Asked about Tele'a's performance — the Blues player scored two tries, the second from a near impossible position in the right corner when apparently covered by three would-be defenders, Holland said: "Mark was pretty special last week — he was a big part of how we got over the line.
"I was excited about how he went at the weekend. His workrate, beating tackles, and some really nice touches of skill."
Possible All Blacks team to play Ireland
At Aviva Stadium, Dublin, on Saturday, kick-off 9.10am NZT
1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Asafo Aumua, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. Tupou Vaa'i, 5. Scott Barrett ©, 6. Wallace Sititi, 7. Sam Cane, 8. Ardie Savea, 9. Cortez Ratima, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Rieko Ioane, 14. Mark Tele'a, 15. Will Jordan. Reserves: 16. George Bell, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Samipeni Finau, 21. Cam Roigard, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Harry Plummer.
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