Follow New Zealand vs Ireland in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals via our live blog on Saturday morning; kick-off 11.15am Irish & UK time
Friday 18 October 2019 11:12, UK
New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster says they will need to produce an '80-minute' performance if they are to beat Ireland in Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
The two-time defending champions will go into the Tokyo match as favourites - but they have lost two of their last three matches against the Irish and are expecting another tight encounter.
Foster thinks Ireland will look to make a strong start and said: "Scoreboard pressure is something pretty powerful.
"It is something that we know they like to accumulate, and they are quite happy to do that and put you under pressure that way.
"We just have to make sure we stay true to what we are because, ultimately, while you want to start well, we know it's going to be an 80-minute game.
"We know we have a great opponent who we know are tenacious and will play all the way to the end - so we have to as well."
Having eased through their group matches unbeaten, Foster says the All Blacks are excited about the prospect of a knockout encounter.
Asked if there were any nerves in the camp, Foster said: "Heck, yeah.
"But it's not about being nervous, it's about acknowledging you are and turning it into a positive excitement.
"That's what the big occasions are about.
"There's nothing better than these sort of games, where everything is on the line.
"We've had a good week in terms of going through our processes and we're clearly very, very excited about this."
On a lighter note, All Blacks centre Jack Goodhue insists his much-maligned mullet is staying, no matter how many times his team-mates, coaches or the media tell him it is out of fashion.
"I'm not getting rid of the mullet," Goodhue told reporters.
"You can ask this every week but it's not going.
"There is scientific evidence that shows it makes me faster. It was done at Harvard, I think!"
