Eden Park record remains intact as All Blacks sweep aside Ireland in Nations Championship

Saturday, 18 July 2026

At Eden Park, Auckland: All Blacks 40 (Patrick Tuipulotu try 15min, Ardie Savea try 22min, Will Jordan try 35min, Asafo Aumua try 39min, Damian McKenzie try 56min, Anton Lienert-Brown try 79min; Ruben Love 5 con) Ireland 21 (Jack Conan try 33min, Joe McCarthy try 45min, Hugo Keenan try 63min; Sam Prendergast 3 con). HT: 28-7.

Yellow card: Luke Jacobson (All Blacks) 28min

The All Blacks’ Eden Park streak remains alive and well, for another three months at least, after Ireland were dispatched 40-21 in their Nations Championship test in Auckland on Saturday night.

Andy Farrell’s men had turned up primed and ready to provide a real threat to the stunning 32-year, 52-match unbeaten run for the men in black at their Auckland fortress, but were instead sent packing back to Ireland for their summer on the back of an error-ridden performance which allowed their hosts off the hook.

The All Blacks, searching for something prettier and more punishing than their patchy wins over France and Italy in Dave Rennie’s first weeks in charge, were sometimes slicker, but were also allowed to operate at a sub-standard level and still get the job done with plenty to spare.

In front of a crowd of 48,153, which included a group of the famed 1996 All Blacks, who formed a pre-match guard of honour for Ardie Savea’s group to run through, the home side ensured it a perfect three bonus-point wins from three to keep the in prime position for when the competition resumes up north in November.

But there will still be plenty to iron out as the daunting tour of South Africa now looms in the coming weeks, with some interesting selection decisions to come, too.

With Tupou Vaa’i making a decent fist of the No 6 jersey, the All Blacks enjoyed a fine platform from their pack, with Patrick Tuipulotu making a notable impression in his return to the starting lineup, while Quinn Tupaea produced a powerful performance in his shot at centre, with a game-high 16 carries.

The All Blacks had their four-try bonus point by halftime, where they took a commanding 28-7 lead to the sheds, in a first spell where they lost Tyrel Lomax (briefly for blood), Codie Taylor after half an hour with a leg injury and Luke Jacobson just prior to the sin bin.

The rugged openside flanker, who was again a combative presence for the hosts, could count himself fortunate not to have had his yellow card upgraded to red, after what was a rather ugly flying elbow into the head of his opposite, Josh van der Flier, at a ruck on the Ireland tryline, which saw a penalty the All Blacks’ way duly reversed.

After the All Blacks had reversed their trend of conceding quickly in 2026 and instead got out to a 14-0 buffer through the hard-charging efforts of Patrick Tuipulotu and captain Ardie Savea, the Jacobson incident presented a potential turning point, with Ireland opening their account five minutes later.

But within 30 seconds of the restart, they were once more their own worst enemies, having already squandered a few opportunities down the other end of the paddock, and this time having Stuart McCloskey’s pull-back pass go to ground and allow Will Jordan, a week after breaking the All Blacks’ all-time try-scoring record, to swoop for one of his easiest ever.

When Irish winger Robert Baloucoune was then the next culprit of a lost ball (one of 11 first-half turnovers from the visitors’ to the All Blacks’ five), Ruben Love banged a 50-22 and then Asafo Aumua followed up a massive carry with a barge through van der Flier for a try just before the halftime siren.

After Jacobson came up with a fine ruck turnover penalty win to close the half, Ireland desperately needed to be first to score in the second stanza, and after a Jordie Barrett drop, they duly were, with Joe McCarthy crashing over.

But Ireland just didn’t have enough to pressure the All Blacks into a real nervous fight, never getting closer than 14 points in a seocnd spell where the All Blacks also had Ruben Love leave before the hour-mark with a heavily-strapped left knee, after he came down awkwardly when Jimmy O’Brien tackled him in the air.

Ireland had a chance to make it single figures with half a dozen minutes left, but Jordan came up huge at a ruck on a flying Ciaran Frawley, and that essentially sealed it.

Eden Park is safe once more, and now it’s the Aussies’ turn again come the opening Bledisloe Cup leg on October 10.