Dan Carter? Richie McCaw? Ma’a Nonu? Paul O’Connell? Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Yes indeed, all four men are retired and won’t feature in Ireland and New Zealand’s double date with destiny.
On Tuesday, the IRFU confirmed the fantastic news that Ireland would be playing the world champion All Blacks twice in the space of November.
The first match will take place in Chicago’s Soldier Field on November 5. It will be the main fixture on ‘The Rugby Weekend’, which will also feature USA Eagles taking on New Zealand Maori.
The event organisers have realeased the official ‘hype video’ on their website and feature some old, familiar faces.
Some may complain that using a world-class quartet to promote a game in which none of them will feature is false advertising, but it is hard to airbrush the likes of McCaw and O’Connell out of trophy-wielding history.
Current players that do feature in the promo include Sean O’Brien, Jared Payne and, ever so briefly, Julian Savea.
Tickets go on sale for the Test on April 1. Here’s Tommy Bowe (wearing a polo top in polar conditions) to get you further hyped…
Ireland v @AllBlacks in Chicago? @TommyBowe14 was in Soldier Field this week #ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/msYxMsvH02
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 17, 2016
