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Ireland vs New Zealand: 5 Classic encounters ahead of heavyweight clash
Ireland will take on three-time champions New Zealand on Saturday evening in a crunch Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Paris.
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The Irish had to wait 111 years for a first Test victory over the All Blacks but have had the upper hand recently by winning four of the last six meetings.
Here, the PA news agency picks out some memorable recent matches between the two nations.
New Zealand 60 Ireland 0 (Hamilton, 2012)
An unforgettable match for all the wrong reasons from an Irish perspective.
A maiden win over the All Blacks seemed a million miles away just over a decade ago following the country’s record defeat on a humiliating evening.
Ruthless New Zealand wrapped up a 3-0 series success with a nine-try demolition of an Ireland team containing current squad members Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, Keith Earls and Peter O’Mahony.
Present-day Kiwi captain Sam Cane claimed two of the reigning world champions’ scores as Declan Kidney’s men were sent home embarrassed.
Ireland 22 New Zealand 24 (Dublin, 2013)
Aaron Cruden completed a remarkable comeback for record-breaking New Zealand by slotting a retaken conversion with the final act of a heartbreaking afternoon for the hosts.
Ireland were moments away from a milestone win after Rob Kearney’s 80-metre dash helped them lead 19-0 inside 18 minutes.
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But, with the clock in the 82nd minute, Ryan Crotty’s try levelled matters.
Cruden then silenced a stunned Aviva Stadium by slotting the extras at the second attempt as the All Blacks became the first Test side in the professional era to achieve a 100 per cent record in a calendar year.
Ireland 40 New Zealand 29 (Chicago, 2016)
Ireland’s class of 2016 produced fireworks at Soldier Field on Bonfire Night to stamp their names into the history books with a landmark first triumph over the All Blacks at the 29th attempt.
Tries from Jordi Murphy, CJ Stander and Conor Murray gave Joe Schmidt’s side a commanding half-time advantage.
Simon Zebo’s score stretched the lead to 30-8 before Robbie Henshaw completed the job after the All Blacks, seeking a 19th straight win, threatened another stunning fightback by closing the gap to just four points.
Ireland 16 New Zealand 9 (Dublin, 2018)
Ireland laid down a marker ahead of the 2019 World Cup by beating the All Blacks on home soil for the first time.
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Jacob Stockdale’s superb chip-and-gather try decided an absorbing contest between Test rugby’s top two sides.
Fly-half Sexton advanced his claims for the world player of the year award, which he went on to win, with the rest of his nation’s points, while Beauden Barrett’s boot kept the Kiwis in contention.
Steve Hansen’s side may have come off second best but they gained revenge 11 months later on the biggest stage in Tokyo with a thumping 46-14 quarter-final win.
New Zealand 22 Ireland 32 (Wellington, 2022)
A week on from a maiden victory over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil – 23-12 in Dunedin – Ireland made more history by wrapping up a stunning series success to climb to the top of the world rankings.
Andy Farrell’s men raced into a 19-point half-time lead in an epic encounter courtesy of tries from Josh van der Flier, Hugo Keenan and Henshaw.
The All Blacks closed to within three points in a frenetic second period before Rob Herring extinguished a Kiwi fightback to seal arguably Ireland’s finest result.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments