Andy Farrell is confident his side have saved their best performance for last, as their season draws to a close in Auckland this weekend.
Ireland can consolidate top spot in their half of the Nations Championship draw if they finish with a third win from three on their summer tour, when they face New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday (8.10am Irish time).
Wins against Australia and Japan have given Ireland maximum points from their opening games of the new competition, but they face arguably the biggest challenge in world rugby this weekend, with the All Blacks boasting a 52-game unbeaten run at Eden Park.
But Farrell says there has been a “different feel” to the group this week, who he believes have what it takes to end the All Blacks’ famous Auckland streak.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than this,” Farrell said this week, as he encouraged his players to embrace the challenge posed by the three-time world champions.
“I mean, where else would you rather be? Not making the most out of the fortunate position that we’re in would be a shame, wouldn’t it?
“We always reference, how do you want to wake up on Monday morning? Have no regrets, all of that.
“So, making sure that people are able to be themselves and perform on a big stage like that, that’s what it’s all about. Don’t waste the opportunity.”
Farrell (above) has previously been involved with a Test side that held the All Blacks to a draw here, as part of the British and Irish Lions coaching team in 2017, which tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong also played in.
But he has also had his fair share of tough defeats to New Zealand, in particular at this ground in 2022, where Ireland were beaten by 23 points in their first Test.
“I’ve played there many times, I’ve had some good performances there, some performances that just got away from you.
“We learned a lot from our last time there and, obviously, we took those lessons into the other games.
“I suppose this time round we’ve had a couple of games to iron a few things out, so we know how we want to attack the game. It’s a different thing doing it, isn’t it?
“So, yeah, it’s super exciting for us, what an opportunity.”
New All Blacks boss Dave Rennie threw the shackles off his side in their opening two games of the summer, beating France and Italy with an adventurous brand of rugby, kicking less and dominating possession.
However, the former Australia and Glasgow Warriors head coach has put it on record that they will be taking a more direct approach this week, moving second row Tupou Vaa’i to flanker in a bid to bulk up his pack.
Similarly, Farrell has shifted Tadhg Beirne (above) from lock to back row, presumably with an eye on shoring up the Irish lineout and adding more weight to the scrum.
“He’s a wonderful player no matter where he plays, so getting the best players on the pitch is probably part of that.
“But yeah, everyone knows that setpiece is vital in a top game like this.
“We talked with you guys last week about being the top one-percenter in world rugby and yeah, at the heart of any massive match is always going to be the set-piece game,” the Ireland head coach added.
Since winning a Test series in New Zealand in 2022, Ireland have been beaten three times in a row by the All Blacks in each of the last three years.
The last two of those, in 2024 and 2025, saw Ireland’s attack completely stifled, scoring just 13 points in each.
New Zealand were 26-13 winners against Ireland in Chicago in their last meeting
Needless to say, 13 points won’t be enough to break the streak on Saturday.
“They’re a brilliant attacking side and that’s probably never going to change. So you have to score points.
“Keeping them to a minimum is going to be a challenge, but you also have to give your best defensive display that you’re able to and more so, and raise it again because of the nature of how they want to play the game.
“So, yeah, keeping the scoreline to a minimum – it’s alright talking about – is harder to do in reality, but I suppose on the other side of it, we’re confident in our own ability as well to score points and we know that if we click, we put our best performance out there, that we can cause any team trouble as well,” Farrell said.
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