Emmet Moloney writes for the 'Farmers Journal' and is a former sports columnist with 'The Kerryman'.

It’s now or never for Ireland against the All Blacks. Emmet Moloney wants now....

The spirit of Willie Anderson needs to be invoked on Saturday in Croke Park.

Back in 1989, Anderson captained Ireland against the All Blacks and as the visitors did their traditional haka just before the kick-off, Anderson linked arms with his team mates and started advancing on All Black captain Wayne Shelford, who led the haka.

It was electrifying. I was at the game and afterwards this is the only thing we could talk about. We thought there’d be a riot in the middle of the field before the ball was kicked off. The entire crowd got to their feet as this was unfolding and it made for some start to the match.

Of course, the All-Blacks won the match (23-6), but we put it up to them for the 80 minutes. That was our role in those days – putting it up to better teams but never threatening to actually win. Thankfully, times have changed and this Saturday we won’t be filling the also-ran role. We’re there to win.

Declan Kidney has given us a bit of a surprise with the inclusion of Alan Quinlan and Tomás O'Leary. Although, Kidney’s decisions shouldn’t surprise us. This, after all, is the man who dropped Peter Stringer for a Heineken Cup quarter final last season in favour of the relatively inexperienced O’Leary. It was a bold move and had it not paid off then, Kidney would have borne the brunt of the blame. He could have played it safe and few would have blinked an eye, but he went with his gut and – forget that it worked – remember the nerve it took to do it.

A Kidney team selection is rarely the cautious act of a man covering his own backside. And this is the prime reason why I feel we’ll beat the All Blacks. At last.

Our game plan will be from the Munster playbook. Of course O’Gara is the key man and this is the only potential fly in the ointment. The All-Blacks have a history of “nobbling” opposition playmakers. Remember what they did to Brian O’Driscoll on the Lions tour of 2005? They saw him as a man that had to be stopped and they went for him. While that was a blatantly dangerous and illegal act, there are easier ways to get the job done. The first ruck or tackle contact that O’Gara is anywhere near on Saturday, he will be targeted. If he is interviewed after the game on television, keep an eye on his face. I’ll wager there will be some scratches visible.

But of course protecting O’Gara is something both Munster and Ireland are experts at. David Wallace, in particular, is adept at looking after his number 10. Like any good back-row forward, he has broken from opposing scrums early to ensure that the out-half channel is shored up. This is a big test on Saturday because the All-Blacks will run at O’Gara. The plan will be to run him over and then ruck him into the ground. Wallace has to get there first.

The All Blacks are the best rugby side in the world. They always are – except, of course, in years when there is a World Cup to be won. Do they need to resort to such questionable tactics? Of course they do. It’s what makes them so strong. To them, this is part of their winning mentality. In their captain Richie McCaw they have the cutest forward playing the game. He plays on the edge and gets away with it most of the time. But we’ll have to play our own game and hope the referee does his job.

Kidney has a track record in plotting the undoing of such giants. Where once Irish teams never won in France, Kidney turned Munster into a side that believed they could. And they began to deliver on a consistent basis. This is a game tailor-made for him.

Let’s hope the weather doesn’t spoil the party. The new laws make aimless kicking an integral part of the game and wind and rain could scupper O’Gara’s radar. A wet ball will also blunt some of the attacking options we have with the likes of Rob Kearney. Once upon a time we’d welcome the elements, but not in the modern age. Our strengths are rugby strengths. We have players that can play.

One of them is undoubtedly Brian O’Driscoll, but he doesn’t look fully revved up to me on the evidence of last weekend. He has a track record of performing on the really big days. We need him at full tilt as there is no back in the world as good as O’Driscoll in the tackle area. He steals a lot of ball on the ground and the new rules suit his defensive talents. But that’s not enough to justify his selection. We also need his flair and incisive game.

Over the next couple of months, O’Driscoll, Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Girvan Dempsey, Andrew Trimble, Luke Fitzgerald, Geordan Murphy, Gordon D’Arcy (hopefully), Shane Horgan and Rob Kearney are all going to be battling for five places behind the scrum.

That could mean a time in the Six Nations when the nuclear option gets discussed: the dropping of Brian O’Driscoll. He will not be an untouchable under Declan Kidney. His class and form must return if he is to continue as the first name down on the team sheet.

Writing off Brian O’Driscoll would be foolish in the extreme. So we’ll keep the faith. As captain he has led us to long awaited wins over Australia and South Africa. On Saturday he can add the All Blacks to that list.

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