The November Internationals are back and Ireland are set to welcome the All Blacks to the Aviva Stadium on Friday night where the Rugby World Rankings top spot will be up for grabs.
Friday's clash will see the two teams face off for the first time since New Zealand defeated Ireland in the RWC 2023 quarter-final.
While two of the world's top three sides facing off needs little introduction, Matt Williams' did his part in stoking the fire when he claimed New Zealand were going through an 'existential crisis'.
Williams who made the comments in his Irish Times Column, was arguing that New Zealand have never recovered from Ireland's 2022 tour win, with the country descending into an 'existential crisis' as a result.
The dawning of the reality that the Springboks are better than anything in a black jersey has led to an existential crisis of identity within the Shaky Isles.Until a few years ago, the Kiwis considered their national team similar to the way the Romans thought of the Legions of their ancient Empire. The Romans and the New Zealanders believed their warriors’ global dominance was good for everyone, which of course was true if you were a Roman or a Kiwi. For the rest of humanity, it sucked.Like the Visigoth hordes sacking the ancient Roman capital, the Irish arrived in New Zealand in 2022 and they did not bother knocking on the front door. Instead, they kicked it off its hinges and the New Zealand mindset has never recovered.
Former All Black hits back at Matt Williams
However, speaking on one of New Zealand's biggest rugby podcasts Aotearoa Rugby, former All Black and Blues star James Parsons hit back at the comments from Williams.
Sky Sports journalist Ross Karl introduced Matt Williams as an 'Aussie bloke works as a pundit in the Irish media and loves to make a big bold comment and get a decent bit of clickbait' and read out an extract from his column.
The comments clearly baffled James Parsons, who branded the comments as 'unfair'.
Sounds like a man that suffered a few losses over his time against the All Blacks and he's bathing in a dip in form.
I don't think it's changed in terms of, it's not so much about the results, it's about what's gone before - the legacy, enhancing that....the success of the teams of the past creates a level of pressure and intensity.
I think it's unfair to say that the All Blacks have always though that....it wasn't that long ago when we couldn't win World Cups that teams would say we'd peak at the wrong time and then we did it in 2011 and 2015.
So to say that New Zealanders always though that, I think what the All Blacks is a symbol of is a very small nation of people dominating on the world stage and I think that inspires our community and our people.
While Parsons may have disagreed with Matt Williams' comments, both Ross Karl and Bryn Hall the other two members of the podcast both understood the sentiment, if not Williams' choice of words.
You can check out the full discussion from about 28:45 here:
Regardless of the impact it had on New Zealand rugby, there's no doubt that the 2022 tour of New Zealand was a pivotal turning point in Irish rugby that changed fans' and player's perceptions about the heights Ireland can reach.
Heading into these Autumn Fixtures there's no doubt that the Irish camp and its fans will be expecting Ireland to compete with and beat the biggest names in World Rugby.
SEE ALSO: World Rugby Rankings: All The Permutations Ahead Of Ireland's Clash With New Zealand
