New Zealand (the All Blacks) first played against Ireland in 1905, during the 1905–1906 All Blacks tour of Europe and North America, beating Ireland 15–0 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin. The two teams have played 37 test matches, with New Zealand winning 31, Ireland winning 5, and 1 match drawn.
During the 2012 Irish Tour of New Zealand, New Zealand won all three tests, scoring 124 points to Ireland's 29. This tour also saw New Zealand post the biggest winning margin against Ireland in their history, with a score of 60–0 on 23 June 2012.[1] On 24 November 2013, New Zealand were trailing 22–17 against Ireland in the final minute of the match, and on the verge of their first ever loss to Ireland. Ireland gave up a penalty with under 30 seconds remaining, which ultimately led to New Zealand working their way up the field, ending in a try to tie the score. The try was converted at the second attempt, fiving New Zealand the victory and their perfect season.[2][3]
Despite New Zealand's dominance until 2016, the ten matches between 2013 and 2023 were shared five each in tightly contested matches between teams at the top of the world rankings. Ireland ended a 111-year wait for a victory at Soldier Field in Chicago with a 40–29 win on 5 November 2016.[4][5] On 17 November 2018, Ireland won 16–9 at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, their first home win against the New Zealand.[6][7] Ireland scored their first victory against the All Blacks in New Zealand on 9 July 2022.[8][9] The following week Ireland became just the fifth touring side to achieve a series win in New Zealand, winning 22–32 in Wellington for a 2-1 series victory, and consecutive victories against New Zealand for the first time.[10] The most recent meeting between the teams saw New Zealand beat Ireland 28-24 in the quarter-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Details | Played | Won by Ireland |
Won by New Zealand |
Drawn | Ireland points | New Zealand points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In Ireland | 18 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 193 | 398 |
In New Zealand | 15 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 226 | 497 |
Neutral venue | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 97 | 146 |
Overall | 37 | 5 | 31 | 1 | 516 | 1,041 |
Records editNote: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set.
|
Attendance editUp to date as of 9 January 2023.
|
Played | Won by Ireland |
Won by New Zealand |
Drawn |
---|---|---|---|
6 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Year | New Zealand | Ireland | Series winner |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | 2 | 0 | New Zealand |
2002 | 2 | 0 | New Zealand |
2006 | 2 | 0 | New Zealand |
2012 | 3 | 0 | New Zealand |
2016 | 1 | 1 | draw |
2022 | 1 | 2 | Ireland |