Dave Rennie has named his All Blacks team to face Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday in the Nations Championship.
The head coach has made four changes and one positional switch for his first game in charge of New Zealand at Eden Park, a venue where the All Blacks boast an unprecedented 52 Test unbeaten streak.
All Blacks team to face Ireland
The biggest selection comes in the back-row where Rennie has opted to move All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i to the side of the scrum with the Chiefs star packing down at blindside flanker.
He is joined by Luke Jacobson and Ardie Savea, who started the first two Tests of the year against France and Italy respectively, with the latter captaining the team once again. Rennie has named a new lock combination in Josh Lord and Patrick Tuipulotu, with Sam Darry dropping out of the matchday 23.
The starting front-row remains unchanged with Tyrel Lomax at tighthead prop, Codie Taylor at hooker and Ethan de Groot at loosehead prop.
Cam Roigard and Ruben Love are the starting half-backs for the third successive Nations Championship Test match while Quinn Tupaea returns to the run-on team to partner Jordie Barrett in the centres. The only other change to the backline sees Josh Moorby replace the injured Leroy Carter on the left wing. Will Jordan continues on the right while Damian McKenzie is at full-back. Moorby gets the nod after an incredible cameo off the bench against the Azzurri last weekend in his Test debut.
Recent debutants Anton Segner and Xavier Numia will also have the opportunity to add a second cap from the bench – Numia will be joined by Asafo Aumua and Fletcher Newell in the reserve front-row.
Segner provides loose forward cover along with Peter Lakai while Cortez Ratima, Anton Lienert-Brown and Caleb Clarke are the three backline reserves with Beauden Barrett once again overlooked.
“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,” Rennie said.
“We have selected a strong team that allows some of the combinations we have tested to continue building, and rewards players who have impressed over the last two rounds, including some of our recent debutants.
“We know how important our bench will be against a team as tenacious as Ireland, so have selected players who we know are capable of making an impact and influencing the course of the game.”
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The All Blacks have played Ireland 39 times in total, for 33 wins, 5 losses and a draw, while the All Blacks have won the last three Tests against the Irish, all played away, they lost the last two Tests played at home (in 2022).
The All Blacks hold a 52-Test unbeaten streak at Eden Park, stretching back to July 1994. Over this 32-year period, they have recorded 50 wins and 2 draws.
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New Zealand team v Ireland
New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Anton Segner, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clarke
Date: Saturday, 18 July, 2026
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 19:10 (local), 08:10 (UK), 09:10 (France), 09:10 (South Africa), 17:10 (AEST), 19:10 (New Zealand), 04:10 (Argentina), 16:10 (JST), 03:10 (EDT)
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referees: Luc Ramos (FFR) and Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
Broadcasters: ITV (United Kingdom), TF1 (France), Virgin Media Television (Republic of Ireland), Sky Italia (Italy), Wowow (Japan), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Nine Network / Stan Sport (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa)