New Zealand v Ireland LIVE rugby: Result and reaction as Ireland make history by winning deciding Test

Aaron Smith leads the Haka, starting behind the rest of the squad and calling them to march forward into formation, presenting themselves in three rows of black shirts. Ireland stand, limbs locked together, staring on with steely focus. A little more intensity in that All Blacks challenge this week.

Tears in the eyes of Dane Coles, back on the New Zealand bench in the city that has always been his rugby home, and plenty of other All Blacks, too, as they sing the national anthemm. They know how much this means.

Sam Cane steps up his pace into a jog as he leads the All Blacks out. Sam Whitelock swings his great limbs from side-to-side, warming the shoulders, bracing for battle. The veteran second row was hugely missed last weekend, but you’d suspect Ireland will again try to challenge New Zealand’s lineout having lost their third specialist jumper, Scott Barrett, late.

Mouthguard held between his teeth, Johnny Sexton marches out past the Steinlager Series trophy, roared on to the Sky Stadium surface by a healthy contingent of travelling fans in green.

The Cake Tin can be an unpleasant place to play rugby when the wind is up and the rain tumbling down, but it looks a fair enough evening in Wellington, if a little nippy. It’s 28 years since New Zealand were beaten in a series on home soil - can Ireland create yet more history?

Full-back Jordie Barrett is confident New Zealand can bounce back to secure series success against Ireland after their second-Test loss led to some serious soul-searching.

The All Blacks blitzed the Irish 42-19 in the Auckland opener a fortnight ago but were powerless to prevent last weekend’s dispiriting 23-12 defeat in Dunedin levelling matters at 1-1.

New Zealand have not lost a home series since 1994 and face a battle to maintain that record in Saturday’s crunch clash in Wellington.

“It is our turn to respond now,” said 25-year-old Barrett. “We feel a lot of it is in our control and we can influence this match.

“We’ve got to put the performance on the park and get the job done because it’s not going to be easy.”

“Excited. It is where we want to be, a series decider against the best team in the world. We’ve been told time and again that there is going to be a reaction from them so we will get them at their best, and that is what we want, to test ourselves against the best.

“We are fresh and ready to go. It’s been a brutal tour. We have put it all on the line with the schedule. We wanted to find out about ourselves on and off the field and we have certainly done that. It doesn’t get any better, does it? There’s a shot at a bit of history.”

“It’s not ideal but we are used to that,” the All Blacks’ head coach tells Sky Sports of the late changes. “Scott is out and Akira is in, he is ready to go. It is what it is.

“We have got to stay confident with what we are trying to do. We got distracted in the second Test and beaten by a good Ireland team. But it has set it up well - 1-1 and a decider. They are a quality team and we are excited to test ourselves on the big stage.

“It’s always about the team. It is about us as a group performing to the level we want.”

The flurry of first-half cards and Ireland’s history-making win rather drew the post-match attention last week, but it was a pretty shoddy all-round performance from New Zealand. For a second week in a row they showed little fluency in attack, hamstrung by a failure to win the gainline and thus unable to work the ball wide.

The All Blacks are usually so good at solving problems on the fly but there is, perhaps, a need to take a slightly different approach this week. With Akira Ioane’s elevation to the starting back row they have an extra dominant carrier, while the classy David Havili adds another pair of fine distributing hands to the midfield. A better opening 20 minutes is a must, certainly - Ireland have decisively won each of the opening quarters in the series so far, and another slow start will further build the pressure on the hosts.

Just the single change to the starting side for Ireland, so impressive in Dunedin last weekend. Garry Ringrose came off for an HIA after he and Ta’avao clashed heads and did not return – Bundee Aki, who really set the tone after his introduction last week, replaces Ringrose in the centres, with Robbie Henshaw pushed out a spot wider to 13.

Keith Earls, who captained the midweek Ireland team that beat the Maori All Blacks, takes Aki’s spot on an otherwise familiar bench.

Ireland XV: Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; Beirne, Ryan; O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris; Gibson-Park, Sexton (c); Lowe, Aki, Henshaw, Hansen; Keenan.

Replacements: Herring, Healy, Bealham, Treadwell, Conan; Murray, Carbery, Earls.