All Blacks dismantle Ireland at Eden Park fortress
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Ethan de Groot of New Zealand places the ball at the back of a ruck during the rugby Nations Championship match between against Ireland at Eden Park in Auckland on July 18, 2026. The All Blacks won 40-21.
PHOTO: AFP
July 18 - New Zealand produced a display of attacking brilliance to humble Ireland 40-21 on Saturday and extend their unbeaten run at Eden Park to a record 53 rugby tests.
The All Blacks scored six tries in front of a heaving crowd to finish the Southern Hemisphere leg of the inaugural Nations Championship with a perfect 3-0 record under new coach Dave Rennie.
The hosts raced out to a 28-7 lead by halftime at their rugby stronghold, with early tries to Patrick Tuipulotu, captain Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and replacement hooker Asafo Aumua.
Fullback Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown added another two five-pointers after the break as the All Blacks fired a warning shot at world champions South Africa before their upcoming tour there.
"The Irish boys are a tough side. We had to work really hard for our points in that second half. But awesome to come away with a tough test win," McKenzie said pitchside after the match.
Rennie's selections bore early fruit as the repositioned Tupou Vaa'i made a blistering start at blindside flanker and the new second row of Tuipulotu and Josh Lord combined for the first try on 15 minutes.
A strong carry by Vaa'i on the right shredded Ireland's defence, and Tuipulotu latched onto a pass from Lord to thunder over the line.
Not 10 minutes later, New Zealand had doubled the lead, with Savea exploding out the back of a scrum near the line for their second five-pointer.
The momentum stalled when loose forward Luke Jacobson earned a yellow card for a high clean-out, allowing Ireland to rally through their forwards.
They rumbled to the line, and a charging Jack Conan barrelled over from two metres out, taking a laser pass out of a ruck from scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park.
Ireland's joy turned to despair two minutes later as Jordan scooped up an errant pass inside the Irish 22 and cantered over for his sixth try of the season.
Aumua made it four tries for the hosts, planting the ball on the chalk near the right post on the cusp of half-time.
Lock Joe McCarthy delivered the spark Ireland badly needed early in the second half, crashing over the line under the posts, thanks in part to a helpful shove by hooker-captain Dan Sheehan.
Again, the All Blacks hit back quickly with pace and unrelenting pressure.
With quick hands shifting the ball to the left, flyhalf Ruben Love was stopped a foot from the line but fullback McKenzie scooped up the recycled ball and popped it over.
Ireland again drew within two converted tries after the hour-mark, with fullback Hugo Keenan crossing unmarked at the left corner following another forwards-led assault.
The All Blacks had the last reply, though, as a Jordan off-load found Lienert-Brown, who finished off Ireland with a sixth try in the final minutes.
Ireland captain Dan Sheehan said afterwards: "We were pumped up to be here, to get the opportunity to play at Eden Park... The All Blacks are a classy outfit and they'll punish you if you're not on your A-game and at times we weren't. Especially, our discipline let us down today a little bit. But I'm proud of the boys and proud of the season we had." REUTERS
