Former Chiefs winger James Lowe is relishing the prospect of playing against some of his closest friends in Sunday morning's test against the All Blacks.
Lowe, 29 was recalled to the Ireland team last week, and celebrated in style, scoring a try in a 60-5 demolition of Japan in Dublin.
A former Maori All Blacks star, Lowe says he is desperate to retain his spot in the starting lineup against his country of birth at Aviva Stadium.
"Some of my best friends are starters in that All Blacks team," says Lowe, who singled out Anton Lienert-Brown and Damian McKenzie, while he also attended Nelson College with David Havili and Ethan Blackadder.
"I went to school with two or three of them, I played with a few of them when they were younger, and now they speak for themselves in the 15," Lowe tells the BBC.
"The list goes on with the amount of people that helped me become a player through playing with them. And, mate, I can't wait for next weekend.
"To have the opportunity now to potentially represent Ireland against them is something that is a challenge I knew was around the corner and a challenge that I can't wait to put my best foot forward for."
Lowe is among a trio of New Zealand-born players in Irish squad, with his Leinster team-mate Jamison Gibson-Park and Connacht centre Bundee Aki also having started against Japan at the weekend.
"The performance [against Japan] was good but it's all about next weekend now.
"In terms of the measuring stick, New Zealand have been at the top of the pecking order for years."
The Leinster man qualified for his adopted nation last in 2020 through residency rules, but several defensive errors led to him being dropped for Ireland's final Six Nations win over England.
Coach Andy Farrell gave Lowe a reprieve, opting to recall him for the contest with Japan.
Farrell admits that Lowe needed "a little bit of a wake-up call", but believes his charge is a quality player.
"He went away and understood how he needed to prepare for international rugby, his preparation is through the roof in comparison to what it was before," says Farrell.
"He's learned the hard way, there are a few things that he needs to get better from Saturday as well but his attitude is in the right place and I'm sure that will happen.
"He's not a tidy player but neither do we want our players to be tidy players. He finds a way into the game, he's in great nick, he's lost a bit of weight and is fit."
Lowe played 53 games for the Chiefs between 2014-17, scoring 25 tries, while he appeared four times for the Maori All Blacks.
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