New Zealand 7-0 Ireland
20 mins: Ireland survive but they are bailing water.
Gibson-Park tries to clear inside the 22 but the ball had come out and New Zealand are able to force a rushed, partially blocked clearance. Going wide immediately, McKenzie almost bursts through before a long pass rolls into touch.
There was an advantage for a knock-on in the tackle so the All Blacks do have a scrum.
More bad news on the injury front. Frawley is helped off with blood gushing from a head injury. Remember he was already on for O’Brien in a HIA. Aki is now on to ensure another backline reshuffle. Ringrose will go to the wing with Aki at 13.
17 mins: Another Irish attack ends with an error, this time a forward pass.
Dan Sheehan gets involved in some afters with Ardie Savea – he’s not happy at all that Tupou Vaa’i came in and shoved him in the back while celebrating the defensive stop.
16 mins: Interesting. Lomax has come back on for Newell, when he looked to have a leg injury.
I thought only head injuries could lead to temporary replacements? Shows how much I know.
TRY NEW ZEALAND – Patrick Tuipulotu
15 mins: This was coming. Pulling Ireland from side to side, the speed, power, offloading ability, fast rucking – everything – it’s impossible for Ireland to counteract. Stretched thin, the line can’t stop a short pass to Tuipulotu who powers through Keenan to score.
Ruben Love taps over the easy conversion.
New Zealand 7-0 Ireland
13 mins: Finally, Ireland get some momentum with Gibson-Park and Keenan putting some pace into the attack with their carries.
Once in the 22, Ryan spills a straightforwad pass before Beirne plays it in an offside position.
Here we go – Ireland are making a change. Ciarán Frawley is on. Looks like it’s Jimmy O’Brien who has gone off – must be injury related.
10 mins: Another Ireland attack looks sluggish, runners struggling to find soft shoulders or break the gain line. They go to the air but New Zealand win the contest.
Fortunately for Ireland, McKenzie throws a forward pass straight into a teammate so Ireland get a scrum on the All Black 10m line.
8 mins: Another huge defensive intervention, this one from Ringrose.
Offloads cut them open but the centre scrambles well to arrive first at a ruck and win a holding-on penalty.
Ireland under plenty of early pressure. Albeit they’ve held out for now.
7 mins: Tadhg Beirne has probably just saved a try there.
Spotting the ball was out before anyone else, he sprints up to get into Roigard’s passing chanel, blocking the ball and ensuring it ends up on the Irish side as O’Brien clears.
That was needed. The All Black attack was crisp and fast, Ireland being knocked back phase after phase into their 22.
5 mins: Huge shot from Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson on Ringrose. Stopping him dead on contact, they hold him up and win a scrum.
Ireland’s attack looks predictable to start, black jerseys lying in wait for every short tip-on pass. Joe McCarthy sees something he doesn’t like and starts a game of pushing and shoving but it’s nothing serious.
There’s a problem though for Lomax, the All Black tighthead. He got trapped underneath that maul as it collapsed and he’s limping off holding his thigh. He’s done for the night, Fletcher Newell coming on earlier than anticipated.
3 mins: Mistakes from both sides. Sheehan doesn’t use a brake foot at the scrum, giving away a free-kick.
New Zealand look to go quick but a chip through is blocked and then on the rebound, Jordie Barrett’s kick in behind goes dead. A frenetic start to this, if a touch low on quality.
2 mins: Ireland’s first attack of the day ends with a knock on.
After a fortnight of set-piece difficulty, they got their first lineout right, Sheehan going short to Gibson-Park before taking a return pass and thundering into midfield.
After a few phases, they look to go wide but an unsympathetic pass sees Ringrose spill on the run.
1 min: And they’re off!
The final Ireland game of the 2025/26 season is underway. Nic Berry blows his whistle and Sam Prendergast does the honours with the kick-off.
New Zealand 0-0 Ireland
Codie Taylor leads the haka. Ireland take a step forward right at the start of it – nothing too dramatic.
Pre-match pageantry done, time for some footy.
Local school choir sings the anthems in Auckland.
It’s an, ahem, interesting rendition of Ireland’s Call. Not as bad as the infamous 2023 World Cup when a young choir butchered France’s anthem ahead of the tournament’s first match.
Ah maybe I’m being harsh. Kids are never always in tune.
Just over 15 minutes to go until kick-off at Eden Park. New Zealand are 12 point favourites here – what do we reckon?
The last time these two sides met, the All Blacks won by 13 in Soldier Field last November.
Ireland lost to New Zealand in Chicago last year. Photograph: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Speaking of New Zealand’s unbeaten run at Eden Park, stretching to 52 games now, JOhn O’Sullivan has cast a look on the nature of the matches involved.
Is the record all it’s cracked up to be? Read more here.
The standing joke about New Zealand’s unbeaten 52-match winning streak at Eden Park since France won 23-20 in 1994 is that the All Blacks choose the opposition wisely at a given point in time and only face teams at the Auckland venue if the home team is confident about their prospects.
— John O’Sullivan
New Zealand have not lost at Eden Park since 1994. Photograph: Shane Wenzlick/AFP via Getty Images.
Looks like a dry, clear night in Eden Park!
New Zealand have not lost at this venue since 1994. Ireland, of course, won on their last visit to Kiwi soil, securing the series 2-1, but those two victories came in Wellington.
Ireland’s Hugo Keenan inspects the pitch ahead of the match. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho 
A general view of Eden Park ahead of the match. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho 
Ireland fans in Auckland City ahead of the game. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Speaking of Howlett, his All Black try-scoring record was broken last week by Will Jordan. A man who knows what it’s like to score against Ireland, Jordan reached the 50-try mark against Italy last time out.
That took him past Howlett on 49 and into a league of his own atop the try-scoring charts for men in the black jersey. 50 tries in 56 matches for Jordan, an astonishing conversion rate of 0.89 tries per game.
Will Jordan scores for the All Blacks against Italy. Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images
Gerry Thornley is in Auckland and he’s caught up with a man who had a profound effect on both Irish and Kiwi rugby, Doug Howlett.
The former All Black record try scorer and Munster wing had plenty to say, especially when it came to his own experiences at Thomond Park and how he views the province these days after a difficult period.
You can read Gerry’s interview with Howlett here.
I just feel, what’s happening at the moment, they’re going to find it difficult to attract international players, or top-notch international players, and allow them to have the experience that I had; that uplifting effect the Munster rugby team could have for the whole region.
— Doug Howlett
Doug Howlett during his time at Munster. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
It’s early, I know. A good way of staying awake until kick-off? Listen to our most recent Counter Ruck podcast where we delve into everything to watch out for in this one.
Need a clever thought on Ireland’s backrow combination to send into the WhatsApp group? This has you covered.
Underdog Ireland gear up for All Blacks test
And in the black corner…
Here are the All Blacks. Personally, I can’t wait to see how Ruben Love gets on at 10.
Jordie Barrett is a familiar face at 12, offering another playmaking outlet alongside love and Damian McKenzie at fullback.
We begin, as we always do, with a reminder of the Irish team. The good news is that Rob Baloucoune’s pesky hamstring allows him to finally make an appearance on this tour, the Ulster man back in the 14 shirt which he made his own with a stellar Six Nations.
Elsewhere it’s more or less as expected after Andy Farrell rotated for last week’s Japan game. Jimmy O’Brien getting the nod at left wing over Jamie Osborne is an interesting one perhaps, but for all his quality, I think we can say at this stage that wing is not Osborne’s top position.
Robbie Henshaw is probably unfortunate to miss out on the 23 after impressing as one of Ireland’s best players against Japan. Garry Ringrose comes back in to take the 13 shirt off him while Bundee Aki resumes his impact replacement role.
After a fortnight which has seen Ireland’s lineout struggle, Tadhg Beirne is named in the backrow as Ireland go for three locks in the run-on team with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan also featuring.
Good morning everyone.
Kudos if you’re up early enough to read this. We love a good build-up period to Ireland matches on this blog (and crucially, so does Google) so here we all are at 6am.
Nonetheless, it is a pleasure to have your company as we build up to Ireland’s clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park, Auckland. Kick-off is at 8.10am Irish time.