Ireland vs New Zealand: Everything you need to know as the rivals prepare for the rematch at Soldier Field

As mentioned above, Ireland’s win over New Zealand in Chicago nine years ago was the turning point in this match.

While New Zealand had been dominant up to that point, the past 10 meetings had been evenly shared.

The All Blacks avenged their loss in Chicago by beating Ireland in Dublin two weeks later, but in 2018, Ireland recorded their first home win against New Zealand.

In 2022, they won for the first time on New Zealand soil before coming back seven days later to claim a 2-1 victory, but the All Blacks have always found a way to bounce back, beating Ireland in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup in Japan and in the 2023 tournament in France, where they qualified 28-24 as they held on despite recent Irish pressure.

The last meeting between the two teams was held in Dublin last year, when the All Blacks won 23-13.

Damien McKenzie converted six penalties to give the All Blacks the lead midway through the second half despite a Josh van der Flier effort for Ireland just after the break, but a Will Jordan try would put the matter beyond doubt.