{"id":530772,"date":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/530772\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:21:13","slug":"abs-fans-nervous-but-confident-as-eden-park-record-goes-on-the-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/530772\/","title":{"rendered":"ABs fans nervous but confident as Eden Park record goes on the line"},"content":{"rendered":"

The All Blacks are embracing the challenge of defending one of rugby’s longest-standing records when their 52-match unbeaten run at Eden Park goes on the line against Ireland on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

The home side survived a massive test to beat the world champion Springboks last year and extend that remarkable record at the fortress. They face another stern assignment this weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The pressure is undeniable, but confidence remains high in the New Zealand camp.<\/p>\n

While the All Blacks are backing themselves, fans are approaching the test with a mix of confidence and nerves.<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All Blacks fans Rhys and Stu are nervous but think the All Blacks should win.<\/p>\n

RNZ\/Joe Porter<\/p>\n

All Blacks fan Rhys is over from Melbourne for the match and while he has faith in the home side, he’s feeling a tad anxious.<\/p>\n

“A little bit nervous,” Rhys said.<\/p>\n

“I think we’ll get it, I think we’ll get up there, but if we play like last week [against Italy] we won’t.”<\/p>\n

Aucklander Matthew is more optimistic, but he reckons it’ll be tight.<\/p>\n

“Honestly dude, the streak is on the line and also the Irish team is looking really really strong, so honestly man, I’m a little worried, a bit tense, but for me I think the All Blacks win by 10.”<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All Blacks fan Matthew poses for a photo with his heroes in Auckland.<\/p>\n

RNZ\/Joe Porter<\/p>\n

Coach Dave Rennie said the hosts had embraced the challenge of defending the record, although he said the Irish, who enter the match on the back of wins over the Wallabies and Japan<\/a>, would be bullish about their prospects of victory.<\/p>\n

“They’re a side who will have genuine confidence going into the game,” Rennie said.<\/p>\n

“Clearly we’ve talked about the [Eden Park] record. The record’s longer than most of the age of the players on our team, so we’re well aware of that and we’re really excited to play there against a really high-quality opposition.”<\/p>\n

Lock Patrick Tuipulotu has been brought into the All Blacks tight five in an attempt to beef up the forward pack ahead of the clash, with Tupou Vaa’i moving from the second row to blindside flanker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

Patrick Tuipulotu will start at lock against Ireland.<\/p>\n

ActionPress<\/p>\n

Tuipulotu said the team was determined to keep the streak alive.<\/p>\n

“We don’t want to be the first team that loses on Eden Park, but at the same time it’s something that gives us energy and kind of hypes us up to make sure we don’t be that team,” Tuipulotu said.<\/p>\n

“It’s not a fear, but it’s an appropriate motivation.”<\/p>\n

Tuipulotu believes there’s something about playing at Eden Park that helps the All Blacks lift to another level.<\/p>\n

“A lot of people talk about the hoodoo of the park, but I enjoy running out there and I can’t really explain the feeling. I feel proud, I feel energised and I feel pretty excited.”<\/p>\n

Tuipulotu’s confidence is mirrored by All Blacks fan Dane, who was also at the tests in Christchurch and Wellington.<\/p>\n

He thinks New Zealand will win by a try or more and the unbeaten record will remain in tact.<\/p>\n

“I hope so – I’d hate to be there when we lose it.”<\/p>\n

\"All<\/p>\n

All Blacks fan Dane travels to as many home tests as he can.<\/p>\n

RNZ Joe Porter<\/p>\n

Dane was at the test against the Springboks in Wellington last year when South Africa crushed the All Blacks 43-10.<\/p>\n

He backed New Zealand to win that game too, so he’s hoping his trip to Eden Park proves to be a better omen.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s going to be close for a good part of the game, but yeah I’d say the All Blacks should win by at least 10.”<\/p>\n

A 10-point win would be a good result for the All Blacks, who know things only get harder after Ireland, with four tests against South Africa still to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The All Blacks are embracing the challenge of defending one of rugby’s longest-standing records when their 52-match unbeaten…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-530772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}