The two-time defending champions All Blacks, are facing their first do-or-die match of this year's Rugby World Cup as they are up against one of their most powerful nemeses, Ireland, in a much-anticipated quarterfinal clash at Tokyo Stadium on Saturday.

It's a make-or-break tie for both the teams as the winner will proceed to the semifinals while the losing side will take the next available flight back home from Japan.

If the All Blacks kick-started their third successive Webb Ellis Trophy conquest with a hard-fought but clinical victory against their arch-rivals and two-time former champions, the Springboks, in the opening game, Kieran Read's well-oiled brigade had a smooth sailing to the knock-out stage so far as they hardly faced any significant challenge in Pool B.

However, it's a different ball-game altogether as the formidable Irish side, which remains the only side in the Rugby Union to outclass the world no. 1 team on two occasions in the last three years. Joe Schmidt's side also knocked the ABs off the perch a week before this World Cup even though they slipped to the 4th place for their inconsistent form in the Pool A matches.

On the other hand, Steve Hansen's big boys, who had a stuttering Rugby Championship season this year and failed to flourish much, may be as part of their pre-World Cup experimentation in trying out different permutations and combinations, seem to have hit top gear in the World Cup so far.

Their first half jittery against the whipping boys, Namibia, might be a timely reality check, but the star-studded squad are upbeat against their quarterfinal opponents even though their last Pool B game against Italy was washed out due to horrific Typhoon Hagibis.

The Irish have never gone past the quarterfinals at the quadrennial marquee event of World Rugby but they may take motivations from their historic two wins against the ABs – a 40-29 victory in 2016 in Chicago and then 16-9 last year in Dublin.

"They have had some pretty successful experiences together. There are a number of players within that side who have contributed to a fair bit of history for us," Schmidt, who is a front-runner to succeed Hansen at the helm of the ABs, told reporters.

"We have experienced (an early exit) ourselves in '07 and there's no guarantees we won't experience it again," a cautious Hansen, was an assistant to Graham Henry when the ABs were bundled out by France in the 2007 quarterfinals, remarked.

That was the ABs worst finish at the tournament and they have been unbeaten at the World Cup since clinching the crown in 2011 and 2015.

(Cover photo via VCG)