Ireland finish their season with a blockbuster clash against New Zealand.
It’s the third match of the southern hemisphere leg of the Nations Championship and Andy Farrell’s side are looking to build on wins over Australia and Japan.
It’s an early Saturday morning kick-off in Auckland – find out all you need to know here.
ONLINE
We’ll have a live blog, match report and post-game reaction on rte.ie/sport.
TV
Ireland v New Zealand (8.10am Irish time) will be live on Virgin Media TV.
WEATHER
Light cloud and a gentle breeze are forecast for Saturday evening (19.10 local). There’s a 12% chance of rain in about 13C.
Ireland have won their last five games coming into this one, including Six Nations victories over England, Wales and Scotland, and the Nations Championship successes against Australia (33-31) and Japan (36-20).
They have scored five tries in each of their last two outings but the performances have been patchy.
Still, they seemed primed to take on a New Zealand side, who have also opened up with wins over France (43-32) and Italy (47-17).
It’s also notable that in the two meetings since the 2023 World Cup quarter-final, which New Zealand edged, Ireland have come in cold to the November friendlies and looked well off the pace in both those defeats (26-13 in Chicago 2025; 23-13 in Dublin 2024).
In theory, the timing of this one could weigh in Ireland’s favour – the rustiness excuse is off the table.
They also know how to win in the Land of the Long White Cloud – claiming a famous 2-1 series victory here in 2022, albeit this game takes place in fortress Eden Park where the All Blacks have not tasted defeat since 1994 against France, a run of 52 Tests.
The teams have met 39 times with Ireland winning five and drawing once, New Zealand have won 33 times.
In team news, Farrell, after resting a number of frontliners against Japan, recalls most of his heavy hitters.
Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park are back in, while wing Rob Baloucoune (above) is fit after withdrawing late from the Wallabies game with a hamstring issue.
Sam Prendergast starts at out-half, while wing Jimmy O’Brien gets the nod ahead of Jamie Osborne.
New Zealand have made four changes to the side that beat Italy with coach Dave Rennie moving Tupou Vaa’i to the back row in a bid to beef up his pack.
Josh Lord and Patrick Tuipulotu come into the second row, while Quinn Tupaea starts in the centre alongside Jordie Barrett.
New Zealand are leading the Nations Championship in defenders beaten with 43, and also top the standings for initial breaks with 12 per match.
Ireland rank second for tackle success percentage with 83.2%, and second for retained kicks percentage with 20%.
TEAMS
New Zealand: Damian McKenzie; Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby; Ruben Love, Cam Roigard; Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Tyrel Lomax; Josh Lord, Patrick Tuipulotu; Tupou Vaa’i, Luke Jacobson, Ardie Savea (capt)
Replacements: Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Fletcher Newell, Anton Segner, Peter Lakai, Cortez Ratima, Anton Lienert-Brown, Caleb Clarke.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Rob Baloucoune, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Jimmy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Tom O’Toole, Dan Sheehan (capt), Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Thomas Clarkson, Nick Timoney, Sean Jansen, Craig Casey, Ciarán Frawley, Bundee Aki.
OFFICIALS
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referee 1: Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
WHAT THEY SAID
Dave Rennie (New Zealand head coach): “Ireland have been one of the best sides in the world for a number of years now. They are very experienced and well-coached and will have belief on the back of their recent success here. We are well aware of the challenge they pose.”
Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach): “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.”
LAST SIX MEETINGS
Ireland 13-26 New Zealand – Soldier Field, Chicago (1 November 2025)
Ireland 13-23 New Zealand – Aviva Stadium, Dublin (8 November 2024)
Ireland 24-28 New Zealand – Stade de France, Paris (14 October 2023)
New Zealand 22-32 Ireland – Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington (16 July 2022)
New Zealand 12-23 Ireland – Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (9 July 2022)
New Zealand 42-19 Ireland – Eden Park, Auckland (2 July 2022)
FULL LIST OF FIXTURES, RESULTS AND STANDINGS
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