Match Day Programme: Ireland vs New Zealand

Fixture: Ireland vs New Zealand 

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

Kickoff Time: 20:10 (GMT)

Referee: Nic Berry

Head-to-head Played:

Played: 37

New Zealand Wins: 31

South Africa Wins: 5 

Draws: 1

Points for:

Ireland: 516

New Zealand: 1,041

Highest score:

Ireland: 40 (63-40 loss on 5 November 2016)

New Zealand: 66 (66-29 victory on 17 November, 2001)

Biggest winning margin

Ireland: 40-29 on 5 November, 2016

New Zealand: 60-9 on 13 November, 2021

Last Meeting: 14 October, 2023 – Ireland 24-28 New Zealand – Stade de France, Saint-Denis (RWC)

Results from the last 5 fixtures of the 2024 season:

Ireland

W 24-25 (a) v South Africa
L  27-20 (a) v South Africa
W 17-13 (h) v Scotland
L  23-22 (a) v England 
W 31-7   (a) v Wales
W 36-0   (h) v Italy

New Zealand

W 24-22 (a) v England
W 64-19 (a) v Japan
W 33-13 (h) v Australia
W 28-31 (h) v Australia
L  18-12 (a) v South Africa
L  31-27 (h) v South Africa

Team News: 

Ireland: Caelan Doris captains Ireland from the back row having previously led the side in the Guinness Six Nations victory over Italy last February and in the Second Test defeat of South Africa in July. Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and James Lowe start in the Ireland back three, with Bundee Aki partnering Garry Ringrose in midfield, while Jamison Gibson-Park returns to the number nine jersey alongside Jack Crowley at out-half. In the pack, Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham are in the front row, with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan starting in the engine room.

New Zealand: There are just two injury-enforced changes to the line-up that beat England at Twickenham last week. With Codie Taylor and Beauden Barrett both ruled out due to concussions, Asafo Aumua will start at hooker and George Bell will look to make his third All Blacks appearance off the bench, while Damian McKenzie slots back into the number 10 jersey and Stephen Perofeta comes into the reserves as backs cover. 

Trivia

• New Zealand 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.
• 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 scored their first victory against the All Blacks in New Zealand on 9 July 2022. The following week Ireland became just the fifth touring side to achieve a series win in New Zealand, winning 32–22 in Wellington for a 2–1 series victory, and consecutive victories against New Zealand for the first time.
• The teams have played in Dublin 18 times and five times at Aviva Stadium since their first meeting at the venue in 2010. Aviva Stadium holds 52,000 fans and was built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road ground where the sides met on 17 occasions, including their first match in 1905.