{"id":30770,"date":"2026-07-16T18:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T06:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tab.co.nz\/punters\/?p=30770"},"modified":"2026-07-16T18:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T06:44:08","slug":"international-rugby-preview-new-zealand-v-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tab.co.nz\/punters\/2026\/07\/international-rugby-preview-new-zealand-v-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"International Rugby Preview: New Zealand v Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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New Zealand<\/div>\n
vs<\/div>\n
Ireland<\/div>\n
Saturday, 7:10pm | Eden Park, Auckland<\/div>\n
New Zealand -10.5 ($1.90)<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg><\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n

New Zealand did what they needed to do last Saturday, getting past Italy 47-17 on Saturday. It looked like the All Blacks’ Wellington woes were going to continue in the first half, as the Italians struck in the opening minutes through Tommaso Menoncello, seeing New Zealand concede very early on in consecutive weeks. A try to Will Jordan at the half-hour mark put NZ up 14-10, and that was the scoreline heading into the break on the back of a very unconvincing opening 40 from the hosts, but they kicked into gear in the second half. It started, as it so often does, through a Cam Roigard try just two minutes into the period, and Ethan de Groot followed suit minutes later, forcing his way over the chalk to push the margin out to 16 points. Jordan then scored back-to-back tries to see the margin balloon out to 30 points 15 minutes into the second half, and it was game over from there, with Jordan becoming the All Blacks’ all-time try scorer in Test rugby in the process.<\/p>\n

Ireland were made to work hard against Japan last week but ultimately showed their class in a 36-20 victory. Importantly, it marked another bonus point win to have them as the only unbeaten Northern Hemisphere team in the Nations Championship, as Andy Farrell rolled the dice with a largely second-string team, who came out on top. It was far from smooth sailing for much of the game for the Irish, with their lineout struggles from Round 1 carrying over to this contest. That was the catalyst for Japan’s first try of the game, with an overthrown lineout seeing Taira Main cross over the chalk in the opening minutes. It was a back-and-forth first half from there, with Farrell’s men taking a slim 17-13 lead into the break, but their defence really stood up in the second half to secure the win. They held Japan to just seven points and kept their points coming in typical fashion, with excellent execution and patience near the goal line helping them add a pair of tries in the second half, but the Brave Blossoms were in striking distance up until the final 10 minutes and Farrell won’t be thrilled about that, especially with the game having taken place at a neutral venue in Newcastle.<\/p>\n

It’s a similar Irish 23 to what we saw against Australia a fortnight ago. Veteran flanker Tadhg Beirne and Robert Baloucoune come into the starting team, seeing Cian Prendergast drop to the bench and Jamie Osborne come out of the squad entirely, while Nick Timoney and Sean Jansen are the new faces on the bench. For Dave Rennie, the big talking point is his inclusion of Tupou Vaa’i at blindside. Peter Lakai and Wallace Sititi were given the #6 jersey for the France and Italy Tests, but usual lock Vaa’i now gets his chance in Saturday’s blockbuster. Patrick Tuipulotu and Josh Lord form a new-look second row and Josh Moorby is given his first start after an impressive cameo off the bench last week. There is firepower on the bench for both teams, headlined by Asafo Aumua, Peter Lakai and Caleb Clarke for the hosts, while Ireland’s bench features Bundee Aki, Ronan Kelleher and Ciar\u00e1n Frawley.<\/p>\n

It’s so often a thrilling match when these two proud rugby nations meet, and I expect Saturday’s clash to be no different. Both sides have been somewhat underwhelming, despite their unbeaten records, in their first two games of the Nations Championship and will be eager to finish the first phase with a tidier showing. The typically-solid set piece of Ireland’s has been a little shaky, while the All Blacks have had long periods of play where they have looked second-rate. Both teams, however, have been able to convert their chances at a good clip and that’s what has kept them afloat, but I do worry about Ireland’s work up front. They lost a couple of scrums and four lineouts last week and the All Blacks will make them pay for their set piece struggles, especially with Lomax and Tuipulotu in the starting team. This is by no means a bulletproof New Zealand team, but they will have enough juice and class to get yet another win at Eden Park.<\/p>\n

Best<\/strong>
\nNew Zealand -10.5 ($1.90)<\/p>\n

Value<\/strong>
\nNew Zealand 11-20 ($3.60)<\/p>\n

Try Scorer<\/strong>
\nJosh Moorby ($9.00 First, $x Anytime)<\/p>\n

Same Game Multi<\/strong>
\nJosh Moorby Try \/ Cam Roigard Try \/ Garry Ringrose Try ($15.21)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\n Bet Now<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Zealand did what they needed to do last Saturday, getting past Italy 47-17 on Saturday. It looked like the All Blacks’ Wellington woes were going to continue in the first half, as the Italians struck in the opening minutes through Tommaso Menoncello, seeing New Zealand concede very early on in consecutive weeks. A try to Will Jordan at the half-hour mark put NZ up 14-10, and that was the scoreline heading into the break on the back of a very unconvincing opening 40 from the hosts, but they kicked into gear in the second half. It started, as it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":13054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-30770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-union"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":"","md_tip_date_end":"","md_market_url":"","tip_date":"16\/07\/2026","event_country":"New Zealand"},"yoast_head":"\nInternational Rugby Preview: New Zealand v Ireland - TAB NZ Punters Lounge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tab.co.nz\/punters\/2026\/07\/international-rugby-preview-new-zealand-v-ireland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"International Rugby Preview: New Zealand v Ireland - TAB NZ Punters Lounge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New Zealand did what they needed to do last Saturday, getting past Italy 47-17 on Saturday. It looked like the All Blacks’ Wellington woes were going to continue in the first half, as the Italians struck in the opening minutes through Tommaso Menoncello, seeing New Zealand concede very early on in consecutive weeks. A try to Will Jordan at the half-hour mark put NZ up 14-10, and that was the scoreline heading into the break on the back of a very unconvincing opening 40 from the hosts, but they kicked into gear in the second half. 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