Beauden Barrett escapes the tackle of Conor Murray in the last All Blacks v Ireland test. Photo / Getty
Beauden Barrett escapes the tackle of Conor Murray in the last All Blacks v Ireland test. Photo / Getty
England should be green with envy.
There has been a major power shift in world rugby, with Ireland the unlikely team to be snapping at the heels of the world champion All Blacks.
Once the showpiece of All Black northern hemisphere tours, the All Blacks' visit to Twickenham playssecond fiddle to meeting Joe Schmidt's outstanding Irish side at Lansdowne Rd this time.
1) IRELAND (November 18)
The unofficial world championship bout. There are no belts on the line, but these are the heavyweights with Ireland supposedly within reach of the No. 1 ranking.
Belts or no belts, it might be seen as Joe Schmidt v Ian Foster in the battle to find the next All Blacks coach, with Schmidt having raised Ireland to amazing heights since 2013.
The hard bit is getting used to Ireland being this good...they are perhaps still typecast as lovable losers even though they are sweeping just about all before them.
Until 2012 there had been a long period of one way traffic in New Zealand's favour. But while the last six games do include a couple of bad tumbles by the men in green, their first victory over the All Blacks is backed up by two narrow defeats including one in New Zealand during that spell.
A year out from the World Cup, this will be the match of the year.
Schmidt has a stunning record - three Six Nations titles including a Grand Slam, world number two ranking, a first-ever win over the All Blacks, superb home record, and over 70 per cent win ratio.
Watch out for those nifty little forward screens allied to Johnny Sexton wraparound moves, although Ireland have been hit by the loss of outstanding halfback Conor Murray.
What a battle it should be. Since the beginning of 2014, Ireland have lost just twice in 24 games at Lansdowne Rd.
Viewing rating: Nicely timed for breakfast and absolutely essential live viewing.
Slick combo...Owen Farrell and George Ford. Photo / Photosport
2) ENGLAND (November 11)
Australia in Japan shapes as a tougher test for the All Blacks than England, but tradition and the marvellous Twickenham venue makes this game a much more enticing prospect than the Bledisloe Cup Nippon clip-on.
England have defensive issues including various backline cold spots, not helped by regular changes to their centre pairing.
With power No. 8 Billy Vunipola missing (isn't he always missing?), it's hard to see England finding enough points to make up for their leaky defence.
Added to that...under siege England coach Eddie Jones has lost his way, and is trying to find it by employing John Mitchell.
The former All Blacks coach may have his strengths, but providing contrasting levity to an obsessive head coach probably isn't one of them. Mitchell wants England's defence to be more aggressive, which may take some bedding in.
Co-captain Owen Farrell will probably run the attack from inside centre, although he could shift in a place, and he's not a man to take lightly. But anything other than a healthy All Blacks victory would be a shock.
The likely selection of Hurricanes stalwart Brad Shields gives the game a nice curio.
Viewing rating: A match against the old enemy is always prime time, even at 4am. But rugby's much-touted showdown is now the curtain-raiser.
3) AUSTRALIA (Saturday)
Israel Folau is such a big name, and the Wallabies are so devoid of other interesting things, that his positional switches can hog the headlines. Even his same-sex marriage saga got a little re-run this week.
And come the end of Saturday night's game there should be yet more speculation about belligerent coach Michael Cheika's future.
Where would the Wallabies be, media wise, without the Folau and Cheika show?
These teams play each other so often, know each other's tactics so well, that the possibility of an Australian victory can't be dismissed entirely in a one-off situation.
Whereas Ireland and England offer something fresh, yet another test against the Wobbly Wallabies is not a riveting prospect. This week's build-up has felt suitably flat.
Viewing rating: Don't wreck a good night out for this one. If recording, don't mix up with all those other Wallaby tests still littering the hard drive.
There will be so many new faces in the All Blacks that it shapes like an x-factor roll call. So the All Black jersey gets devalued yet again, although at this time of year we'll take anything which is a bit different. A game where initial enthusiasm will be fading by halftime.
Viewing rating: One for the recording device if you have a half-decent dinner invite.
5) ITALY (November 25)
A test too far...many fans would not even know the game is scheduled. Since the beginning of last year, Italy have won two of 18 tests, the losses including a recent drubbing at the hands of Japan.
Viewing rating: A 3am yawn...most will record it, and many will quickly delete.
