New-look New Zealand arrive with attacking ambition

What a way to kick off Ireland's Autumn Nations Series.

A New Zealand side that appear on the cusp of a complete explosion in attack after last weekend’s victory at Twickenham roll in town and the latest chapter in this rivalry is ready to play out.

The All Blacks earned a hard-fought and gutsy win over England on Saturday, while in contrast, the Irish players were able to watch it all unfold from their training camp in Portugal.

Scott Roberston’s side are certainly more battle-hardened heading into Friday night’s eagerly anticipated clash, but how much of an advantage that is remains to be seen.

You’d imagine their preparation will focus on the gameplan and resting up in the early part of the week given the physical exertions from Twickenham.

The All Blacks are yet to show their full potential under Robertson. They’ve had summer international tests, as well as a full Rugby Championship where they lost twice to South Africa.

You can see that there’s a bit of an identity change, with more offloading, different set-piece set-ups and a varied exit strategy.

They're a team on the edge of a complete explosion into action and when it all clicks, someone is going to get a hiding from the expansive attacking threat that they pose.

Against England the kicking strategy was relatively straightforward.

Beauden Barrett dummied an exit several times before igniting an attack from his own 22. One of those was a dummy and pass to Jordie Barrett who broke out of his half.

However, the other was a dummy and pass to Will Jordan, who is usually so incisive.

The full-back doubted himself and stuttered his way beyond a Henry Slade tackle before offloading poorly and handing a scrum to England on the edge of the New Zealand 22.

That’s the part that feels