Five big questions for Ireland's tour of New Zealand

Irish rugby's biggest ever tour, both literally and figuratively.

Between players, coaches and support staff, a touring party of 70 left Dublin for Auckland this week, ahead of five games and four weeks in the toughest testing ground of them all.

Given the size of the traveling party and itinerary, combined with the proximity to next year's Rugby Word Cup in France, it's no exaggeration to say this summer campaign will be Ireland's most important in a non-World Cup year.

Balancing Ireland's wants with their needs is a tricky act for Andy Farrell. While the ultimate goal is a Test series win, there are longer-term ambitions for this group to fill, and the cautionary tale of the 2018 peak is still ringing in the ears.

The to-do list for Farrell is long and complicated. With Ireland having lost all 12 of their previous Tests against the All Blacks in New Zealand, breaking that duck is a significant marker to hit, and although the two midweek games against the Maori All Blacks will provide an opportunity to develop the wider squad, it's still vital to get some hard Test-match minutes into that group.

With that in mind, here are the five things we're most interested to learn over the next three weeks, both about Ireland and the wider global game.

Dealing with expectation

For the first time ever, Ireland travel to New Zealand knowing how to beat the All Blacks.

When they last visited Auckland in 2012, they had yet to break their duck against the then-World Champions, and although they came close in the second Test in Christchurch, it would be four more years before they finally claimed their maiden win.

And while they needed 29 attempts to crack the nut, they have now done it three times in the last five meetings between the pair.

Doing