Revenge is sweet as scratchy All Blacks overcome Ireland to open Grand Slam tour

Sunday, 2 November 2025

At Soldier Field, Chicago: All Blacks 26 (Ardie Savea try 19min, Tamaiti Williams try 62min, Wallace Sititi try 67min, Cam Roigard try 77min; Beauden Barrett 3 cons), Ireland 13 (Tadhg Furlong try 16min; Jack Crowley 2 pens, con). HT: 7-10.

Red card: Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) 3min.

A surging final-quarter finish has the All Blacks a quarter of the way to their first Grand Slam since 2010 after a dose of retribution over Ireland in Chicago that was a lot tougher than those final digits indicate.

If this Sunday (NZ time) contest indeed was “revenge” for the New Zealanders in the Soldier Field rematch against their Irish antagonists, it proved as excruciatingly difficult as it was immensely satisfying in a contest that fell a long way short of being the advert for international rugby in the home of the 2031 World Cup that it was billed as.

In front of a capacity crowd of 62,000 at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, Scott Robertson’s All Blacks were not beating the inconsistency tag on the back of another scratchy, out-of-sorts effort to open their northern tour. Though they could at least hold their heads high after a three-try final quarter enabled them to dig their way out of a 13-7 hole at the 60-minute mark.

With scores to super subs Tamaiti Williams and Wallace Sititi – both impressive off the pine – and a fabulous individual effort from halfback Cam Roigard, off a 5-metre scrum, the All Blacks rattled off 19 straight points in the final quarter to run away with things at the death. Before that they struggled immensely to get on top of a willing but rusty Irish outfit who did well to shake off an early controversial red card to lock Tadhg Beirne.

The victory, as well as being the first leg of the hoped-for Grand Slam of the four Home Unions, was the New Zealanders’ third straight over Ireland and a form of payback from the historic 2016 victory at the same venue by the men in green that sparked a run of five wins in eight tests over the All Blacks.

It was a long way from being the expression of intent that Robertson would have wanted it to be, though, as the All Blacks spent the first three quarters of the contest wading through mud as they struggled for rhythm off the back of their post-Rugby Championship break.

After England’s statement 25-7 victory over the Wallabies at Twickenham earlier in the day to open the major inter-hemisphere clashes of the northern autumn, this represented a balancing of the ledger somewhat as the New Zealanders improved their 2025 record to 8-2.

With French referee Pierre Brousset, with plenty of help from his TMO, blowing a merry old tune on his whistle, it was no surprise the match lacked a consistent flow. The scratchiness of both teams., especially the surprisingly off-kilter New Zealanders, added to that.

But the New Zealanders did well to steady after losing two of their three Barrett brothers (skipper Scott and midfielder Jordie) to injury in the first half, with both under a cloud for the tests to come against Scotland, England and Wales.

They got a strong running and aerial display from power wing Caleb Clarke (113m, 3 defenders beaten, 3 clean breaks), a typically busy effort from Will Jordan (64m, 3 tackle-busts) and a standout performance off the bench from the hard-running Leicester Fainga’anuku (49m, 2 defenders beaten). Beauden Barrett also did well to shake off a couple of high hits to run the show well, and slot three of his four conversion attempts.

Up front Wallace Sititi made a big impact in 32 minutes off the pine, leading the pack in run metres (45) and making plenty of impact, while Fabian Holland and Ardie Savea were the pick of the rest of the big men. The lineout wobbled a little too much, but the scrum was solid throughout.

Both of Ireland’s New Zealand-born starters were pivotal for the men in green. Jamison Gibson-Park produced a masterful kicking game to pull the strings superbly from the base, while the strong-running James Lowe was full of his usual industry and intent.

It did not take long for the action to unfold in an eventful, if not free-flowing, first half that ended, somewhat remarkably, with Ireland shaking off that early red to eke out a 10-7 lead at the major break.

The All Blacks lost skipper Scott Barrett to a leg gash in just the third minute (replaced by an effective Josh Lord), while Ireland saw lock Beirne eventually red -carded in the same play phase for an upright shoulder-to-head contact on Beauden Barrett that seemed a harsh call.

With Jordie Barrett joining his brother on the sideline soon after with a knee injury, and officials taking an age to adjudicate on Beirne’s high hit (not helped by stadium replay issues) the opening half took nearly 55 minutes to play out, and, not surprisingly, lacked flow.

Still, the Irish did well to shake off playing a man down for 20 minutes to hold the lead at the half, with a try apiece (Tadhg Furlong’s powerhouse finish answered by Savea’s score out wide, sparked by Fainga’anuku’s brilliant offload) and the men in green holding the edge in territory and possession.

Robertson’s All Blacks did not look like a team coming off nine tests in 2025 as they struggled to find any consistency, and played too much of the game from deep in their own territory. The Irish, also on the rusty side, very much won the pressure battle through the spell.

Ireland looked well placed for a repeat Chicago ambush when a Jack Crowley penalty pushed them out by a half-dozen (13-7) at the three-quarter mark, before Robertson’s men finally found their spark, and finishing kick, with the match in the balance.

Next stop Edinburgh, and the improving Scots.