YOU CAN IMAGINE the type of conversations Ireland would have held across the week building up to their Eden Park Test, the defining moment of their Nations Championship tour across Australia and New Zealand.
Andy Farrell’s group would have been focused on rising to the occasion, delivering something special at the All Blacks’ ‘Mecca’, to use the Ireland head coach’s wording.
And then they might have deconstructed New Zealand’s famed Eden Park run, an unbeaten stretch running back to 1994. Throw it under the microscope, maybe it’s not all that it seems.
No doubt, the Eden Park away changing room has not welcomed a steady roll of world beaters through the doors. South Africa have been intermittent visitors, coming to Auckland just four times since the turn of the century (2001, 2010, 2013, 2025). Since the most recent Eden Park clash with France (2018), Australia have been the opposition for seven of 11 Tests.
A view of New Zealand fans in Eden Park. Photosport / Craig Butland/INPHO
Photosport / Craig Butland/INPHO / Craig Butland/INPHO
Ireland could reasonably weigh all that up and wonder why they couldn’t be the ones to end the run, fuelled by disappointing showings in the most recent meetings between these two teams.
And yet, maybe none of that matters when the All Blacks believe their own lore. This is a New Zealand team who have been building nicely under new head coach Dave Rennie, beating France in a high-scoring Nations Championship opener before turning the screw in the second half against a stubborn Italian side.
This is a New Zealand team rediscovering their attacking flair, the backline purring through Cam Roigard, now one of the game’s best nines, and the triple play-making 10/12/15 axis of Ruben Love, Jordie Barrett and Damien McKenzie.
This is a New Zealand team who simply don’t know what it feels like to lose at this stadium. Only three of today’s squad were born the last time New Zealand lost a game at Eden Park.
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So perhaps it should have been no surprise to see Rennie’s men grow in stature again on this storied piece of turf. Eden Park challenges its visitors to do something special, but it also challenges those wearing black jerseys to keep the legend going.
And so we saw a serious, statement New Zealand performance on a night when they looked faster, sharper and smarter than an Ireland side who signed off for another long season with a fourth straight defeat to the All Blacks.
What was a great, competitive rivalry leading into the 2023 World Cup has been one-way traffic since.
By the end of an exhausting, suffocating opening half of rugby for Ireland, New Zealand already had their bonus point, doing the damage through a mix of beautiful, accurate attacking rugby and a ruthless ability to pounce on Irish mistakes. Here was the incisive, open style so many felt was missing during Scott Robertson’s tenure.
Ireland by comparison looked sluggish and short on ideas. Balls were dropped, passes missed targets and on hard-earned visits to the New Zealand half the movement was too static, too laboured.
A vibrant home side were playing a different game, squeezing yards from every bruising carry and slipping past Irish limbs when opting to run the ball. By the end of that opening 40 Ireland had missed 22 tackles, 11 turnovers and shipped four tries.
Robert Baloucoune is tackled by New Zealand's Will Jordan. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
The intent was clear from the opening minutes when Quinn Tupaea and Tyrel Lomax clamped onto Garry Ringrose. From the resulting scrum New Zealand went hunting, McKenzie charging and Roigard flinging flat passes before Tadhg Beirne stole the ball back and Jimmy O’Brien booted it away.
The waves kept coming, Ireland getting into good positions but struggling to execute under intense New Zealand pressure. Jamison Gibson-Park saw a hurried clearance half-blocked inches from his own tryline. O’Brien left for a HIA, only for his replacement, Ciarán Frawley, to follow, his forehead feeling the full force of Hugo Keenan’s knee amid the chaos in Ireland’s 22.
O’Brien came back in and as an All Blacks stampede approached he threw a pass into Josh Moorby’s arms. Gibson-Park threw one to nobody in particular, unclear whether the confusion was on his side or that of his surrounding teammates. James Ryan’s hands let him down in a promising position.
Ireland continued to scramble and scrap as New Zealand built their lead. Farrell’s men did well to get Jack Conan over the line for their first score over half an hour in, but then handed those seven points right back to their hosts as Stuart McCloskey threw an aimless pass in the 22, resulting in one of the worst scores Ireland have conceded under Farrell.
New Zealand did everything with more clarity and skill. McKenzie had his legs chopped but had the athleticism to flick a short kick down the wing, touching an Irish hand on its way over the line.
These are the breaks you get when things are going your way. Ireland could rightly look at the decision to only show a yellow card to Luke Jacobson for a wreckless clearout on Josh van der Flier and wonder if they’d get any breaks at all.
Ireland's Dan Sheehan is tackled by Luke Jacobson, Will Jordan and Tyrel Lomax . Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Robert Baloucoune won a high ball brilliantly, only to see it stripped and sent back in the other direction for a New Zealand 50/22, leading to the All Blacks’ bonus point try courtesy of Asafo Aumua.
Half time was a welcome respite, Ireland trailing by 21.
And really, that was the game. This Ireland team are not one who will fold behind a heavy deficit, and New Zealand were always unlikely to carry the same tempo and intent into the second half when in all reality, they wouldn’t need to. A return of two tries each in the second half highlights Ireland’s determination but has to be viewed in the context of New Zealand’s comfort.
When it was more about playing smart and keeping Ireland at arm’s length, Farrell’s men had better moments, enjoying more territory and getting their half-backs in better positions. Sam Prendergast threw a sharp wide pass to send Hugo Keenan over and help stop the scoreboard getting truly ugly after McKenzie had replied to Joe McCarthy early’s first half score. McCarthy, along with Conan, led the charge in Ireland’s pack.
New Zealand kept the pressure up across the final quarter, Ireland defending brilliantly at times but simply unable to plug all the holes as black jerseys probed and swarmed and sidestepped before Anton Lienert-Brown added a late sixth try.
Farrell will appreciate the fight and effort from his players, but you need more than that to win in New Zealand. He might even wonder what this might have looked like if his players didn’t have a full, testing season in their legs.
Yet few could argue that as Ireland finally head on their summer holidays, they are not in as good a place as Rennie’s revitalised All Blacks, who are trending in the right direction again.
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Rennie's revitalised New Zealand are sharper and smarter on tough night for Ireland
YOU CAN IMAGINE the type of conversations Ireland would have held across the week building up to their Eden Park Test, the defining moment of their Nations Championship tour across Australia and New Zealand.
Andy Farrell’s group would have been focused on rising to the occasion, delivering something special at the All Blacks’ ‘Mecca’, to use the Ireland head coach’s wording.
And then they might have deconstructed New Zealand’s famed Eden Park run, an unbeaten stretch running back to 1994. Throw it under the microscope, maybe it’s not all that it seems.
No doubt, the Eden Park away changing room has not welcomed a steady roll of world beaters through the doors. South Africa have been intermittent visitors, coming to Auckland just four times since the turn of the century (2001, 2010, 2013, 2025). Since the most recent Eden Park clash with France (2018), Australia have been the opposition for seven of 11 Tests.
Ireland could reasonably weigh all that up and wonder why they couldn’t be the ones to end the run, fuelled by disappointing showings in the most recent meetings between these two teams.
And yet, maybe none of that matters when the All Blacks believe their own lore. This is a New Zealand team who have been building nicely under new head coach Dave Rennie, beating France in a high-scoring Nations Championship opener before turning the screw in the second half against a stubborn Italian side.
This is a New Zealand team rediscovering their attacking flair, the backline purring through Cam Roigard, now one of the game’s best nines, and the triple play-making 10/12/15 axis of Ruben Love, Jordie Barrett and Damien McKenzie.
This is a New Zealand team who simply don’t know what it feels like to lose at this stadium. Only three of today’s squad were born the last time New Zealand lost a game at Eden Park.
So perhaps it should have been no surprise to see Rennie’s men grow in stature again on this storied piece of turf. Eden Park challenges its visitors to do something special, but it also challenges those wearing black jerseys to keep the legend going.
And so we saw a serious, statement New Zealand performance on a night when they looked faster, sharper and smarter than an Ireland side who signed off for another long season with a fourth straight defeat to the All Blacks.
What was a great, competitive rivalry leading into the 2023 World Cup has been one-way traffic since.
By the end of an exhausting, suffocating opening half of rugby for Ireland, New Zealand already had their bonus point, doing the damage through a mix of beautiful, accurate attacking rugby and a ruthless ability to pounce on Irish mistakes. Here was the incisive, open style so many felt was missing during Scott Robertson’s tenure.
Ireland by comparison looked sluggish and short on ideas. Balls were dropped, passes missed targets and on hard-earned visits to the New Zealand half the movement was too static, too laboured.
A vibrant home side were playing a different game, squeezing yards from every bruising carry and slipping past Irish limbs when opting to run the ball. By the end of that opening 40 Ireland had missed 22 tackles, 11 turnovers and shipped four tries.
The intent was clear from the opening minutes when Quinn Tupaea and Tyrel Lomax clamped onto Garry Ringrose. From the resulting scrum New Zealand went hunting, McKenzie charging and Roigard flinging flat passes before Tadhg Beirne stole the ball back and Jimmy O’Brien booted it away.
The waves kept coming, Ireland getting into good positions but struggling to execute under intense New Zealand pressure. Jamison Gibson-Park saw a hurried clearance half-blocked inches from his own tryline. O’Brien left for a HIA, only for his replacement, Ciarán Frawley, to follow, his forehead feeling the full force of Hugo Keenan’s knee amid the chaos in Ireland’s 22.
O’Brien came back in and as an All Blacks stampede approached he threw a pass into Josh Moorby’s arms. Gibson-Park threw one to nobody in particular, unclear whether the confusion was on his side or that of his surrounding teammates. James Ryan’s hands let him down in a promising position.
Ireland continued to scramble and scrap as New Zealand built their lead. Farrell’s men did well to get Jack Conan over the line for their first score over half an hour in, but then handed those seven points right back to their hosts as Stuart McCloskey threw an aimless pass in the 22, resulting in one of the worst scores Ireland have conceded under Farrell.
New Zealand did everything with more clarity and skill. McKenzie had his legs chopped but had the athleticism to flick a short kick down the wing, touching an Irish hand on its way over the line.
These are the breaks you get when things are going your way. Ireland could rightly look at the decision to only show a yellow card to Luke Jacobson for a wreckless clearout on Josh van der Flier and wonder if they’d get any breaks at all.
Robert Baloucoune won a high ball brilliantly, only to see it stripped and sent back in the other direction for a New Zealand 50/22, leading to the All Blacks’ bonus point try courtesy of Asafo Aumua.
Half time was a welcome respite, Ireland trailing by 21.
And really, that was the game. This Ireland team are not one who will fold behind a heavy deficit, and New Zealand were always unlikely to carry the same tempo and intent into the second half when in all reality, they wouldn’t need to. A return of two tries each in the second half highlights Ireland’s determination but has to be viewed in the context of New Zealand’s comfort.
When it was more about playing smart and keeping Ireland at arm’s length, Farrell’s men had better moments, enjoying more territory and getting their half-backs in better positions. Sam Prendergast threw a sharp wide pass to send Hugo Keenan over and help stop the scoreboard getting truly ugly after McKenzie had replied to Joe McCarthy early’s first half score. McCarthy, along with Conan, led the charge in Ireland’s pack.
New Zealand kept the pressure up across the final quarter, Ireland defending brilliantly at times but simply unable to plug all the holes as black jerseys probed and swarmed and sidestepped before Anton Lienert-Brown added a late sixth try.
Farrell will appreciate the fight and effort from his players, but you need more than that to win in New Zealand. He might even wonder what this might have looked like if his players didn’t have a full, testing season in their legs.
Yet few could argue that as Ireland finally head on their summer holidays, they are not in as good a place as Rennie’s revitalised All Blacks, who are trending in the right direction again.
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