Ireland must "respond" to New Zealand as the sides prepare to meet since the first time since the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
The teams entered the tournament ranked number one and two in the world respectively but, following a harrowing loss to Japan in the pool stage, Ireland proved no match for the ruthless Kiwis as they progressed to a semi-final date with England on a 46-14 scoreline.
Prior to that meeting, Ireland, then under former head coach Joe Schmidt, had won two of their previous three meetings with New Zealand, the first of those, a 40-29 win in Chicago, the first time Ireland had beaten the All Blacks.
The burden of never having recorded a win in 28 attempts, according to captain Sexton, weighed heavily on the team and their recent record has changed the dynamic.
"Yeah, it was a little bit of the monkey off the back stuff," he said of the 2016 Soldier Field triumph.
"Getting over that hurdle at last was huge and it was something that we were desperate for.
"It's always very special to be the first team to do something, like Grand Slams.
"You always want to put your name in the history books and that was our chance to do something, to do something that no team had done before, no Irish team, and we got it and it was amazing.
"Then to back it up a few years later [the 16-9 win in 2018] because not any team can do a one-off but you wanted to back it up and show that it wasn’t a fluke.
"Perhaps we were brought back down to earth in our last game against them so we’ve got to respond.
"But yeah, it was a big change for Irish rugby, I think, to see us get the win."
How do Ireland beat the All Blacks? Stop them from scoring more than 20 and you'll give yourself a shot, says @TheRealEddieOS #AgainstTheHead #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/DWBFFvItcj
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 8, 2021
Sexton is expected to line out against the All Blacks for the 14th time, including Lions appearances.
The 36-year-old has three wins to his name and knows what to expect from Ian Foster’s side come kick-off at the Aviva Stadium (3.15pm, live on RTÉ).
However, there are a number of players who have never faced the current Rugby Championship winners and three-time world champions.
Among them is Hugo Keenan, who made his Ireland debut against Italy in the delayed 2020 Six Nations, the start of a run of 14 consecutive games.
"I suppose the challenge doesn’t get bigger than this against the All Blacks," said the full-back, who was a winger on the Ireland team that beat New Zealand in the Under-20 World Championship in 2016.
"I was in the Aviva with my brother in 2018. I remember the atmosphere being incredible and hopefully it’s the same on Saturday.
"In 2016 I was making my debut for Leinster against Zebre so I think we watched a bit of [the Chicago game] in the airport."
"These are the games that you want to be involved in. It’s really exciting, the prospect of it.
"I’ve never played them before, obviously, I had a bit of success at underage, Under-20s, never came across them at sevens but, yeah, they are a serious side, a big challenge.
"We are all looking forward to it."
'The most important thing is that we win and that's what we're judged on' - @irishrugby captain Johnny Sexton looks ahead to @allblacks challenge #RTERugby #RTESport #IREvNZ pic.twitter.com/n5avyvNvk7
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 9, 2021
Follow Ireland v New Zealand via our liveblog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app, watch live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player or listen to national radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
