All of a sudden there's a great deal more optimism and interest around Ireland's final test against New Zealand on Saturday morning (kick-off 8:05 Irish time).
With that in mind, just when is Andy Farrell set to name his team for the deciding test with the series now tied at 1-1 in the wake of Ireland out-thinking and out-playing the All Blacks in Dunedin?
Based off the previous tests in the tour, the team will be released overnight around 3 or 4 am on Thursday.
Whilst it'd be tough to drop anyone from the last day out, Farrell insisted after Tuesday's 30-24 win over the Maori All Blacks that the reserves who came in are in contention to feature from the start against what will surely be a re-focused New Zealand challenge.
He said: “There are a lot of lads that have put their hands up,” said the Englishman, who saw an experimental team lose 32-17 to the Maoris in their tour opener just under a fortnight ago.
“We’ve seen people grow massively, not just as rugby players but as people, coming out of themselves within the group which is massive for us for next year.
“I was more pleased with the team performance (than individuals) because the obvious thing to learn from the first game was that some lads were pretty desperate to show everything they’ve got and they (now) understand that it’s always got to be team first and not just disciplined with the referee but disciplined in how we play the game.
“Our discipline was pretty poor in that first game and got a bit desperate at times.
“They’ve learnt a lot because it was pretty brutal out there, the conditions, it was swirling everywhere and for a young side to be able to manage their way through a game when things aren’t going right the whole time, I thought was tremendous.
“I thought they managed the game as a whole superbly well.”
He added: “The mood’s good. It helps when you win a Test match obviously but the mood still would have been great anyway.
“If the boys had lost tonight, we’d have learnt and pushed forward, it’s about growing the group as we’ve talked about non-stop on this tour.
“These boys have been dying for a game for the last 13 days and for it to finally come around and them to improve and get a big W on the board is very pleasing for them going forward.
“It’s up to them and their hunger. They know what it’s all about now, they know what’s expected of them so over to them.”
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