New Zealand head coach Ian Foster sought to increase the pressure on Ireland ahead of next weekend's quarter-final, suggesting it was a case of 'now or never' for their opponents' World Cup ambitions.
Ireland's emphatic 36-14 win over Scotland on Saturday night teed up another knockout meeting with the All Blacks, who themselves have slotted into a comfortable groove, dispatching Italy, Namibia and Uruguay with brutal ease.
It's the second World Cup in a row that the teams have collided at this phase. In Japan four years ago, a weary and battered Irish side were put out of their misery by New Zealand, losing 46-14.
The defeat marked a dismal end to Joe Schmidt's otherwise successful six-year stint as Ireland coach. This Saturday, Schmidt will be in the opposing coaching booth, having been installed as attack coach by Foster last year.
"His mindset is, as is mine, about what we do well and making sure we nail that," says Foster. "It's not so much a matter of micro-analysing them to the nth degree that we get hung up and dampen our own game a little bit.
"He knows the Irish well but that's information that we've been tapping in to the last 12 months, and getting his nous in and refining how we play.
"They've definitely evolved their game too. I won't go into too many details but they haven't achieved what they've achieved by standing still."
Foster, who shipped a mountain of criticism following New Zealand's poor 2022, is due to be replaced by Crusaders' coach Scott Robertson after the World Cup. He has, however, steadied things this year, guiding the All Blacks to another Rugby Championship win in 2023.
Foster's job came under immediate threat following the series loss at home to Ireland last summer, though he was eventually retained. And he is quick to note that no team has beaten Ireland since his own, the 42-19 win in the first Test in Wellington.
"You look at their record. We were the last team to beat them, at Eden Park. Look at those consecutive wins, they've earned that.
"They've got a group of players, this is probably their moment. If they're ever going to win a World Cup, they will probably feel like it's now.
"We're kind of in the same mode so it's pretty exciting."
Last week, Beauden Barrett said New Zealand were keen to exact revenge for the hurt of the series defeat.
"There is no doubt that they believed when they came to New Zealand, they said it at the time, that they took something from us," says Foster.
"And it was a massive achievement for them to win on New Zealand soil. Which it was. But there's been a lot of water go under the bridge since then."
Follow a live blog of Ireland v New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday with kick-off 8pm. Listen to live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
