There will be very little in the way of banter on the pitch when Ireland take on New Zealand on Saturday morning.
From the national anthems to the Haka and from the opening kick to the final whistle, there will be no shortage of intensity between the sides at the Tokyo Stadium.
Ireland will need to be at their absolute best to defeat the defending world champions in Saturday’s quarter-final and ahead of kick-off, the national airlines of both Ireland and New Zealand have been going back and forth on social media.
Air New Zealand started it, poking fun at Irish supporters in a video by delivering some tongue-in-cheek in-flight instructions.
Anything to add @AerLingus? 😉
— Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) October 17, 2019
But the social media administrators over at Aer Lingus were not prepared to sit quietly and let the Kiwis have the last laugh and they hit back with the perfect response.
Aer Lingus replied: “Thanks for your concern, but two of our last three flights have actually been very enjoyable! Our crew is briefed, checklist complete and we’re ready for take-off.”
Thanks for your concern, but two of our last three flights have actually been very enjoyable! Our crew is briefed, checklist complete and we're ready for take-off #IREvNZL #NZLvIRE #HomeAdvantage https://t.co/i1WrvcuxhV
— Aer Lingus (@AerLingus) October 17, 2019
Aer Lingus were referring to the fact that Joe Schmidt’s men have come out on top in two of the last three meetings between the sides and while New Zealand are favourites for this weekend’s clash, they will know that Ireland are more than capable of upsetting the All Blacks.
