Johnny Sexton: All Blacks will be out for revenge against Ireland

Johnny Sexton says Ireland can draw on the experiences of their Test series win in New Zealand when they face the All Blacks next week, but warns they'll be taking on a side more motivated than ever.

Ireland already know what it's like to face New Zealand in a World Cup quarter-final when they have a point to prove; four years ago they hammered Ireland 46-14 in the last eight of the competition in Tokyo, gaining revenge for their defeat to Joe Schmidt's side a a year previous in Dublin.

When the sides meet at Stade de France on Saturday night, it will be the first time they've come face to face since Ireland's Test series win away to Ian Foster's side in the summer of 2022.

And while Sexton says they way they came from behind to defeat New Zealand for the first time on their home patch is proof to themselves that they can do it again.

"We went to New Zealand and Andy [Farrell] told us he'd put us under the most pressure he could find," Sexton said.

"To go on a three Test tour but also to do the midweek games, it was to test us and to make us learn and we learnt so many lessons on that tour to take with us for the Six Nations, to win a Grand Slam, and it's to put us in this situation to have to play them again."

The first of those two wins away to New Zealand last summer started what has now become a 17-game winning run, and they can match the record for a Tier 1 nation next week, with the All Blacks and England the only two to have reached 18 games.

However, Sexton knows there's little in sport quite like a New Zealand scorned.

"We always knew we would most likely play France or New Zealand [in the quarter-final]. There's no easy option there and now we've got New Zealand, so it will be a very tough game. I see that they were