Nobody said it would be easy, but Ireland's mammoth tour of New Zealand is proving to be an incredible test, both physically and mentally.
After games in Hamilton and Auckland, Andy Farrell's camp have moved down to the south island and Dunedin for their second Test with the All Blacks, which marks the midpoint of the tour.
A third defeat in a row would signal a Test series win for the hosts, while Ireland would still have to pick themselves up for their second clash with the Maoris on Tuesday, before the final Test match, both of which are back on the north island in the capital Wellington.
And although the mood around Ireland has been more negative than positive in the last 10 days, a win this weekend would spark the second half of the trip into life.
As well as that, Ireland are still chasing that maiden win away to the All Blacks, this being their 14th attempt.
Since the dust settled over their 42-19 loss in Auckland last week, on reflection there have been plenty of positives for Ireland to build on, with their attack causing Ian Foster's side plenty of problems.
There should be no excuses if Ireland fail to put together a solid attacking game this week, with the match being played under the closed roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, the same ground where Ireland beat Italy 36-6 at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Cian Healy, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls all featured that day, with Earls scoring two tries, while Robbie Henshaw was the only Irish player to be involved in 2017 when the British and Irish Lions were beaten 23-22 by the Highlanders.
TV
Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action will be showing live coverage from Forsyth Barr Stadium, getting under way at 7.30am.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary on RTÉ 2fm.
ONLINE
RTE.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app will have have a live blog of the game, as well as a match report and post match reaction.
WEATHER
Saturday will be cold and wet in Dunedin, but that will have no impact on the game, which will be played in perfect conditions under the closed roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium .
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With a full week to prepare the team, and a three-day turnaround until the game against the Maori All Blacks next Tuesday, Andy Farrell was never likely to experiment with his team selection in this second Test.
The matchday 23 he has picked contains no surprises, with the only change in the starting team being the inclusion of Mack Hansen on the right wing at the expense of Keith Earls, who logged close to 140 minutes across the opening two matches.
After the chaos of the first week's camp, Farrell has had a more settled group to work with in recent days, with Hansen out of Covid isolation, Rob Herring back fit, and Ed Byrne, Stuart McCloskey and Niall Scannell all well settled into the group.
Finlay Bealham also returns to the matchday squad, having had to withdraw due to Covid-19, with he and Herring the fresh faces on the bench.
Johnny Sexton also starts, having been cleared of concussion earlier in the week, a development that has been heavily criticised by a leading rugby player welfare group.
On the All Blacks side, they've lost their 133-cap second row Sam Whitelock to a head injury, removing their key lineout operator.
With the veteran lock absent, Scott Barrett moves from flanker into the second row, with Dalton Papalii (below) partnering Sam Cane and Ardie Savea in the back row.
Ian Foster has resisted the urge to break up his backline from last week, even with Will Jordan, Jack Goodhue and David Havilii all clearing the Covid-19 protocols, although Jordan is named on the bench.
There are also two possible debuts, with loosehead Aidan Ross on the bench, along with scrum-half Folau Fakatava, who is in line to win his first cap at the home of his Super Rugby side Highlanders.
New Zealand: Jordie Barrett; Sevu Reece, Rieki Ioane, Quinn Tupaea, Leicester Fainga'anuku; Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; George Bower, Codie Taylor, Ofa Tu'ungafasi; Brodie Retallick, Scott Barrett; Dalton Papalii, Sam Cane (capt), Ardie Savea.
Replacements: Samisoni Taukei'aho, Aidan Ross, Angus Ta'avao, Patrick Tuipulotu, Pita Gus Sowakula, Folau Fakatava, Richie Mo'unga, Will Jordan.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton (capt), Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan; Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Kieran Treadwell, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Joey Carbery, Bundee Aki.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee: Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)
RESULTS
Maori All Blacks 32-17 Ireland XV - 29 June, FMG Stadium, Waikato
New Zealand 42-19 Ireland - 2 July, Eden Park, Auckland
New Zealand v Ireland - 9 July, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Maori All Blacks v Ireland - 12 July, Sky Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand v Ireland - 19 July, Sky Stadium, Wellington
IN QUOTES
Ian Foster (New Zealand): "[Ireland are] a smart rugby team, and they are trying to evolve what they do as well. I think everyone is in that space nowadays. We saw a team [in the first Test] that’s got a pretty good understanding of what they want to achieve, so their clarity of roles, and their intentions, and how they move collectively as a group, is really strong. It’s probably their best strength so that makes them a hard team to break down."
Andy Farrell (Ireland): There's a bit of doubt creeps in when you don't know the answers, but they know the answers, they know the bits they need to get right, they know the access they gave the All Blacks and they understand you can't do that because they know first half you'll be behind your own posts.
It's another packed day of international rugby, starting with the second Test between Japan and France in Tokyo at 6.50am Irish time. At 10.55am England will look to keep their series alive against Australia when they meet at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, before a much-changed South Africa host Wales in Bloemfontein at 4.05pm. The final big game of the night sees Argentina looking to complete the double over Scotland when they host Gregor Townsend's side at 8.10pm in Salta.
Follow Ireland's Test series against New Zealand via our live blogs every Saturday at 8.05am on rte.ie/sport and on the RTÉ News App or listen to live radio coverage on RTÉ 2fm.
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