He said: "The game against Australia showed the values Munster hopefully stand for - pride, passion and meaning stuff to the fellas that play in the jersey.

"That's the great thing about Munster. Sometimes you can do special things, things you didn't think you'd be able to do when you play in that jersey - that's has to be the case for us on Saturday.

"We have to go out there and push ourselves to limits you never thought you'd be able to get to."

That self-belief is shared by Ulster flanker Stephen Ferris despite Ireland’s hit-and-miss recent form.

In the last two matches Ireland narrowly lost to world champions South Africa and just scraped through against Samoa.

And Ferris knows a victory at the Aviva Stadium would lay down a huge marker ahead of the World Cup.

He said: “We believe we can play New Zealand week in, week out and beat them.

“That's the spirit of the Irish team. We have proved we are a world class team over the last couple of years.

"We just need to beat somebody like New Zealand to show the world we are capable of mixing it with the best.”