Time heals. Not quickly enough for Brian O'Driscoll's shoulder admittedly, and but for a book serialisation and the IRB's rapid-fire response to an amateur video - moving with all the speed of a tribunal - the wounds would have healed a good deal quicker.

But, as some more enlightened rugby supporters have pointed out this week in response to a knee-jerk call for hostile booing of the All Blacks, why let one incident spoil 100 years of magnificent history? It would be a classy touch if the crowd, who will be prompted accordingly by a pre-match IRFU plea, treat the New Zealand anthem and Haka with due respect and then burst into the loudest rendition of The Fields Of Athenry the old ground has ever heard.

If the Munster messageboard is any kind of yardstick, such an attitude is gathering momentum, and it comes with a groundswell of opinion to observe silence for both goal-kickers. On what promises to be one of those uniquely capricious days at Lansdowne Road, that might even be more discomfiting for Leon MacDonald than a cacophony of boos. But let's not hold our breath.

Long before the end of the Lions series the visit of the dastardly men in black on November 12th was etched into the Irish rugby public's mind as the day when there would be a whiff of cordite in the air.

This was all the more so as O'Driscoll had targeted it as a possible Test comeback. "There's a carrot there," he noted at the time with a smile. In the event it's the OK Corral without Wyatt Earp or Ike Clanton.

While Graham Henry wouldn't scoff at a Grand Slam, this tour is primarily about ensuring New Zealand have virtually two teams capable of winning the 2007 World Cup. In the short-term, there's places against England up for grabs.

Hence, there's also a feeling out there that Henry has shown a lack of respect to their hosts. More pertinently, the absence of two-thirds of the frontliners who did for the Lions has heightened Irish optimism. Conversely, you could interpret the All Blacks' selection as heaping the pressure back on Ireland, and O'Sullivan has striven to deflect that pressure. "If that's a second string team I'll eat my hat," he observed yesterday.

Asked what it was that puts the Tri-Nations champions and world number one-ranked side ahead of the rest, O'Sullivan summed it up in one word: "skill". From one to 15.

Coupled with his observations about the Lions tour, O'Sullivan has realised that Ireland's game has to move on to another level; they need to become more adept in their footwork, pace, staying on their feet and offloading. The preference for Geordan Murphy and Denis Leamy is part of that process.

However, whether Ireland give it a lash, or in the inclement conditions play plenty of one-pass rugby and allow Ronan O'Gara to kick the leather off the ball, is another matter. And O'Sullivan surely won't have forgotten that the crosskick (where Tommy Bowe is particularly effective) and the lineout maul were the Lions' most potent if under-played ploys.

With Shane Byrne throwing in to established targets, the Irish lineout should be a darn sight more effective than the Welsh one last Saturday, although Malcolm O'Kelly's lack of rugby is a concern. A back row containing three players who've played at openside is clearly designed to compete with McCaw and co at the breakdown.

Ireland have a good record in first-up November tests, adding Australia (world champions at the time) and South Africa (Tri-Nations champions a year ago) to the scalps of England and France in O'Sullivan's tenure. But those wins were founded as much on immense defence, set-piece solidity and O'Gara's boot as anything else, Ireland never scoring more than one try in any of them.

Indeed, in the recent autumn wins over the Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas, O'Gara scored all the points, including one try.

Given a good start in the powder-keg atmosphere, Ireland have the ingredients to take chunks of the game to the All Blacks and keep it competitive for a large part of the afternoon. But then you go through the two line-ups. The All Blacks, from debutant John Afoa (no All Blacks ever seems to have a bad debut, think of man of the match McCaw and Mauger four years ago) through to the explosively dynamic Sione Lauaki to every one of their backline, have far more ball-carriers, pace and gamebreakers.

While Graham Steadman's impressive work at Munster indicates a smooth transition from Mike Ford, containing that lot for 80 minutes will be some achievement, and Ireland don't tend to play the kind of cramping, aggressive defence the Boks smothered the Blacks with in the Tri-Nations, never mind have that kind of physique.

Nor do Ireland carry that same apparent threat. If getting through the All Blacks' rush defence is one thing, getting around it looks even trickier.

Then there are the benches. O'Sullivan maintained his would have the impact he was looking for, but Henry has hardened frontliners like Carl Hayman, Chris Jack and Rodney So'oialo in reserve. By comparison, Ireland's forward replacements look comparatively callow.

The elements may lead to what Henry forecast would be "a game of two halves", and oughtn't make it so free-scoring. A first win in 18 attempts may well be too much to ask of Ireland, but the home crowd can travel more in hope than anger that Ireland can at least rattle their cage.

Head-to-head: Played 17, Ireland 0 wins, 1 draw, New Zealand 16 wins.

Points: Ireland 152, New Zealand 411. Tries: Ireland 16, New Zealand 59.

Highest score: Ireland - 29 (New Zealand 41) 2001 (Lansdowne Road); New Zealand - 63 (Ireland 15) 1997 (Lansdowne Road).

Most points: Ireland - David Humphreys 14 (2001); New Zealand - Andrew Mehrtens 33 (1997).

Odds (Paddy Powers): 11/2 Ireland, 50/1 Draw, 1/12 New Zealand. Handicap betting ( Ireland +16pts): 10/11 Ireland, 22/1 Draw, 10/11 New Zealand.

Forecast: All Blacks to win.