Ireland take on the All Blacks in Chicago of all places on Saturday and it’s a fixture that evokes many memories, most of them pleasant. Like the other 100,000 people present, I too have a story about 31 October 1978 and the only day the All Blacks were beaten by an Irish side.

Mine starts like many others: I was taken out from school in Ennis early by my late father (who was a rugby and GAA man) and by lunchtime I was half a mile from Thomond Park. There, alas, I stayed. My mother was in Barringtons Hospital at the time and that’s where we called, me to stay with my mother, while my father popped out to watch Munster hold the All Blacks scoreless for the first and only time. I remember the roar of the crowd drifting in from the window, but little else. I can claim to being in Limerick that day, but not at the match.

My dad always laughed when I brought this traumatic childhood experience up, claiming he was being a good father, what with 100,000 people at the game, my safety being paramount, etc.

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Fast forward 11 years and I was old enough to see the All Blacks under my own steam, a couple of us hitch-hiking to Dublin in 1989 to see Willie Anderson’s famous challenge to the haka. That game was in the mixing pot for a while but ultimately Grant Fox and the speedster that was John Gallagher saw New Zealand home, 23-6.

My abiding memory of that night was us, four UCG kids, enjoying the post-match revelries in Wanderers clubhouse on the grounds of the then Lansdowne Road. As we left the establishment in the wee hours, there was the pitch just yards from us, protected only by a waist-high barrier. You can guess what happened next.

It was said afterwards that some of the best passing movements ever seen on the Lansdowne Road pitch happened that night. Granted, it was us that said it. We used a shoe instead of a ball. I got to score a try in the corner. Whenever we play the All Blacks I think of that night fondly. My teammates can be named as the trespassing statute of limitations is surely up by now. Take a bow Gordon Curley (former Connacht winger), Marcus Creaven and David Walsh. I don’t think we’d get away with it now.

Those were the last remnants of the amateur era, even though it would be six years before that became official. Three years after that ’89 game, Vinny Cunningham was fingertips away from a last-minute intercept that would have seen us beat the mighty New Zealand on their home turf in Dunedin; we lost that game 24-21.

There have been a couple of close calls for the All Blacks since, most of this week’s conversations relating to the last time we met and Johnny Sexton’s late missed penalty. That was three short years ago and it’s the game that Brian O’Driscoll says he regrets most in a storied career. It’s easy to understand why. We were 19-0 up within 17 minutes and all over them. They scored the equalising try in injury time and the game-winning conversion was the last kick of the game. In sporting terms, it was heartbreaking.

Ryan Crotty will be the table quiz answer, for it was he that touched down and culminated a move that involved countless New Zealand phases with numerous opportunities to knock-on, slip, mistime a pass, etc ... of course, they didn’t – they’re the All Blacks and that’s not what they do.

All of which brings us to Soldier Field in Chicago this Saturday at 8pm Irish time. Most expect them to do it all again, even if we put it up to them, which we traditionally do.

This will be a wonderful occasion for thousands of Irish in America, not to mention the thousands that are travelling to the States for the game. So, have we a chance? Yes we do and to copy the mantra of a former Chicago senator who went on to greater things, yes we can.

Unfortunately, I just don’t think it will be this Saturday; more likely in two weeks’ time when we meet again, this time in the Aviva and with a fuller compliment of returning stars.

This Saturday, Joe Schmidt appears to be giving it a lash with some younger squad members who we hope will gain valuable experience in a hopefully gallant defeat. In a fortnight’s time, no better man that Schmidt to put the lessons learned to good use and that is the day I think we might be able for them.

Our 27-man squad for this weekend has a youthful look to it. This might be the first time we see the possible 2019 World Cup centre partnership of Henshaw and Ringrose in action for Ireland, while elsewhere this is a real opportunity for some players to press their claims.

That is the beauty of getting a chance against the All Blacks, for if you can swim among these sharks, you will be in the water for some time to come.

It would appear that Joey Carbery, in the week of his 21st birthday, will see game time. With Paddy Jackson not travelling and Johnny Sexton rarely getting through 80 minutes these days, he could be a most interesting introduction. Remember, he has only played nine senior games with Leinster. Considering the length of time Gary Ringrose has waited for his debut, it’s clear that Joe Schmidt holds Carbery in high regard. He is one of five uncapped players in the squad, another eyebrow-raising statistic considering it is the unbeaten-in-yonks world champions we are playing.

Who joins Rory Best in the front row will be informative. Props and the lack of them used to be an issue with Irish squads but not any more. Bealham, Healy, Furlong, McGraths and Munster’s John Ryan are all viable options, while Devon Toner could be joined by Donnacha Ryan or Ultan Dillane in the second row. Billy Holland’s versatility in second or back row won’t hurt his overdue chances either.

Jordi Murphy, Josh Van der Flier, CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip will not need reminding that Peter O’Mahony and Sean O’Brien are waiting in the wings for two weeks’ time. That should be perfect motivation for them to make an impact. Behind the scrum, it looks like Murray, Sexton, Trimble, Payne/Ringrose, Henshaw, Gilroy/Zebo and Rob Kearney. The more I read these names, the more I like how we are fixed. Listen up. We are going to beat the All Blacks and it will happen on Joe Schmidt’s watch, maybe not this weekend. But soon.