RUGBY/ Ireland v New Zealand: A decade into professionalism and Ireland are still burdened by the same platitudes with regard to the perceived strengths of the national rugby team. New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith spoke briefly yesterday about Irish qualities: you know the ones, patriotism and passion.

He wasn't being condescending. It was just an honest appraisal of what Ireland bring to the Test arena. New Zealand aren't wowed or cowed by the skill of Irish players or by their athleticism; but they do retain a healthy regard for the Irish penchant to cover up their shortcomings with a bit of boot, bite and bollock.

It's a hoary chestnut that Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has worked hard to address, but it is still quite obviously prevalent amongst Irish opponents. The only proving ground that matters is the pitch, and it is there that Ireland will seek to offer a rebuttal.

When questioned about Ireland's likely approach, Smith called on his current reading material to explain his thoughts on the subject.

"Passion. I have been reading a book called Stand Up and Fight about the '78 Munster team: that's 27 years ago, and they have had 55 reunions celebrating their win. That tells you how much it means to them.

"I think we are just going to have to go out and expect them to play with that patriotism and passion. I wouldn't think that we would get much ground given to us. We are going to have to take what we can get.

"It's (Ireland) a strong side, very strong up front. Their tight five is very experienced. They've quite a few Lions in the team, so they'll have something to prove no doubt. And passion. Passion fuels performance. They are going to have plenty of that."

Smith is happy with the way preparations have gone for the match. "It's been a good week training-wise. The boys have looked sharp from the extra week they had together. There has been a pretty good spirit.

"Expectations within the squad are always pretty high. People say that we play under a lot of pressure, but we're put under more pressure from within. That's where the expectations come from. The guys who are playing this week won't want to let the performance drop.

"The guys against Wales hit a benchmark, and I know that when you follow that you want to raise your standards. I'm certain there'll be a lot of boys raising their standards to keep the levels high. We're about performance.

"This team is good enough that if they perform really well they're going to win more times than lose. We're after a top-notch display."

One key battle tomorrow will be the clash of opensides, Ireland's Johnny O'Connor and world rugby's leading exponent in the "loosie" category, Richie McCaw, who'll also captain the side. Smith, in his time as coach to Northampton, is well versed in O'Connor's strengths.

"Johnny O'Connor's a good player. He's a traditional openside, a flier: similar to what we term an openside in New Zealand. He's clearly a good player, a good scavenger. He's up against the best in the world. I am sure it'll be a big afternoon for him (O'Connor).

"Richie is just a phenomenal player. He's highly committed. He's brave. He's good at his art. I doubt whether he'll change anything. He works hard on his strengths and we're hoping he'll have another great game at the weekend.

"He's an absolute craftsman. If you won a gold medal for being a rugby player, he'd be a gold medal winner."

Affable and articulate, Smith played down the likely influence of tomorrow's referee, Jonathan Kaplan of South Africa.

"Kaplan's a good referee. We are used to him. I think he's got a lot of composure, a good man. Just like Chris White last week, we're pretty happy. We don't do a lot of work on the refs. The laws are the laws; you play within them. Referees are all pretty competent and neutral. We don't spend much time on that."

Smith is adamant the New Zealand management are four square behind the team that will take the field against Ireland and don't need to pepper the replacements with high-profile names if things start to deteriorate on the pitch.

"I think we have shown over the past couple of years that we can trust these guys. You got to walk the talk. If you look for insurance policies all the time, people wouldn't take the step in the first place. We want to give these guys a decent crack at it.

"We think they're all good enough. If we go out with the sort of fizz and enthusiasm and sharpness that we have shown over the last 10 days, there could be some fireworks."

For Ireland the task is a simple one. If they want to be taken seriously they have to prove it on the only testing ground that matters: the pitch.