The remainder of the squad have had to cope with a 30-hour plus trip to New Zealand but Gaffney maintains those factors have not affected the self-belief within the 2010 RBS 6 Nations runners up.

“We're still confident with the squad we have here,” said Gaffney with Ireland set to announce their team to face the All Blacks on Tuesday.

“It's going to be a tough day at the office obviously and we fully understand that, but most of these guys have played together over a long period of time.

“We don't think it will affect us unduly. We're going to go out there with a great deal of confidence at the weekend.

“The travel out here was good. It hasn't impacted enormously. The majority of the guys had a good sleep. We wouldn't be using any of that as an excuse.”