Only three of the Ireland squad have faced down the haka more than Keith Earls and the Munster winger is confident he can win his fitness battle ahead of Saturday's World Cup showdown with New Zealand (8pm).
Johnny Sexton (17), Conor Murray (14), Tadhg Furlong (11) with Ireland and the Lions, are the two others in the current panel that have more experience against the All Blacks, with all four men's careers spanning pre and post-Chicago, the venue for Ireland's first ever victory over New Zealand in 2016.
Earls' first view of the ceremonial Maori war dance up close came on his second cap, in Croke Park back in 2008.
"I think the first time was maybe 2008 in Croke Park, I think it was my second cap. It was a surreal experience, I had grown up watching them," said Earls, who turned 36 at the start of October, and has played nine times against New Zealand in his career.
"They have conquered the world of rugby since I was a young lad, and I think it was only up until last year that we didn't really understand what the haka meant.
"It can come across as quite intimidating but speaking to [former Munster centre] Rua Tipoki down in New Zealand last year, he let us know the inside of a haka and what it means, and how we can draw from our ancestors and our family as well.
"It’s not meant to intimidate, it’s a tradition of theirs and we have to look at it, it’s how they are looking at it as well, we are going into war as well as a battle. We draw on our families and stuff from that as well."
He missed the game in Soldier Field through suspension after getting sent off during a Munster match but was on the wing when Ireland, then under Joe Schmidt, claimed their first win over New Zealand on Irish soil in 2018.
Asked if that win had changed how the Irish players view the All Blacks, Earls told RTÉ Sport: "I still think they're a world-class team, I think the view is different on ourselves.
"As Irish people we can lack a lot of confidence and can be, I suppose, a small bit too humble at times.
"You know, we've done an awful lot of work on ourselves and the coaches have done an awful lot of work on getting us to believe that we can play a certain brand of rugby that will make us compete with anyone in the world.
"So I think that was the most important thing for us, getting us to start believing in ourselves, that the rugby that we can play, if we can get it right on any day - which we have shown over the last number of years - that we can compete with and beat most teams."
While Earls and the rest of the older cohort have endured their share of tough days at the office against New Zealand, many of the younger players, like Dan Sheehan and Caelan Doris (above), don't carry that baggage.
Ireland have won five of their last eight meetings.
"We have some lads in the squad who are lucky enough to have beaten New Zealand more times than they have lost to them. Some of them haven’t lost to them," added the Moyross man, who won his 101st cap against Romania at the start of the tournament.
"Their confidence mixed with our experience as well, so we can bring them down to a level-head as well, if they start getting too confident, but that’s not in our squad.
"Look, I think I know and the lads know, if we can play and fire on all cylinders, it will be a really good Test match on Saturday.
"We have to back ourselves, really. We cant’ shy away from what needs to be done. All we can do is prepare all week and see where it takes us."
Ireland are sweating on the fitness of James Ryan (hand), James Lowe (eye), Mack Hansen (calf) and Robbie Henshaw (hamstring) ahead of Wednesday's team announcement.
Earls, who was unavailable for selection against Scotland due to a hamstring injury, said: "Yeah, it’s good, it’s good.
"Obviously, I picked up a small bit of a niggle in the last couple of days, but I was back running again [Sunday], and looking to push it on a bit more [Monday] and during the next couple of days. [It’s] nothing too serious, thank God."
Listen to live commentary of Ireland v New Zealand on Saturday on RTÉ Radio 1, or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
