Quade Cooper v Jonathan Sexton

Cooper is more the de facto first choice and is more in form, but it’s all on the night. Wonderfully inventive though he is with his stepping and extravagant range of passing, Cooper can become rattled and flawed in his decision making if under pressure.

Jonny Sexton may not have quite the flair, but he has his own running threat, a much better defensive game and, quite probably, a better kicking game. With rain unlike to hold off all night – it rarely does in Auckland and showers are forecast – who knows, that could be significant. This duel is another telling barometer.

David Pocock v Seán O’Brien

The Zimbabwean-born Pocock is a beast of a man, whose speed to the tackle zone and strength in hovering over the ball is immense. Negating his influence will be down to the organ grinders like Donncha O’Callaghan as much as the backrowers, but Ireland will have to hunt more in packs, with closer support, than they have been of late and rediscover the accuracy and savage intensity of the England game.

O’Brien, European Player of the Year, brings different qualities, specifically as Ireland’s best ball-carrier such are his support lines and ability to take the ball from deep. His return probably adds about 20 per cent to Ireland’s running game. Though they will have different impacts, the degree to which one or other has the more profound influence will be a huge barometer of the game.

Will Genia v Eoin Reddan

Stop Genia. Stop Genia. Stop Genia. Press up hard and straight on the fringes, as the All Blacks showed in Eden Park, and the ripple effects can extend to Cooper and beyond. But it’s almost impossible to keep him quiet for 80 minutes, and drift, or leave any holes, his conversion rate of breaks into tries for himself close in or team-mates is remarkable, as he showed in the return meeting in Brisbane. He also has a big kicking game.

The forwards, or close-in defenders, will be more important in stopping him than Reddan, who has a less influential role but brings his own snappy delivery and sniping to the Irish mix, provided he’s sharp and makes the right decisions regarding breaking or passing. Ireland have been more fluid with him as the link between forwards and backs.