Ireland v New Zealand: The Irish are ‘ready to take on’ the field soldier’s test, says captain Dan Sheehan

Ireland captain Dan Sheehan said his side are “ready to storm” into Saturday’s Chicago Test against New Zealand, as he brushed aside talk of the team being “undercooked”.

Sheehan is one of several Irish players with just one cap under his belt since the British and Irish Lions tour in the summer.

But the hooker insists Ireland will be ready for the final chapter of the All Blacks rivalry at Soldier Field as Andy Farrell’s side attempt to repeat the famous 2016 win over the southern hemisphere giants in the home of the Chicago Bears.

“I’ve seen a good bit [of talk] “We may be undercooked, but I don’t think that’s a big part,” said Sheehan, who will captain Ireland with captain Kellan Doris on the bench.

“I think the way we prepared over the last two weeks was through very tough training [sessions] We can draw confidence from that and how we train.

“Obviously some guys have had a little bit more playing time, but I think people are good and their bodies are fresh and ready to go into Saturday.”

While Ireland’s front-line players have not played together since the Six Nations, New Zealand have completed a three-Test series against France and a six-match Rugby Championship campaign since July.

“Obviously we’ve been on two different journeys as a team over the last few months, and you can look at it both ways,” Sheehan added.

“Some of them are new, some of them are hardcore, no matter how you look at it. The truth is, it doesn’t matter.

“Both teams are full of world-class players and professionals who are able to shine one day and perform at their best. I suppose we’ll see tomorrow, but I don’t think that will be a factor.”

Saturday will be Sheehan’s second time captaining Ireland, while he also led the British and Irish Lions to victory over the Western Force in June.

While captaining the team at Soldier Field will be a significant moment in the 27-year-old’s career, Sheehan insists it has been business as usual for him in the build-up.

“Nothing changes significantly for me or my setup and I will continue with business as usual with little thought to the rest of the players.

“There are a lot of leaders in our group and we have a great leadership group that pretty much does the work for us and over the years we’ve always taken a little bit of our own during the week that we have to lead.”