Ireland vs New Zealand Rugby Union Head-to-Head & Stats

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 19 Nov 2024

Simon Lewis 19 Nov 2024

Share this article

First match played in 1905; New Zealand have dominated Ireland in head-to-head.
New Zealand won the first match 15-0 and won 27 of their first 28 Tests against Ireland, with one draw.
Ireland have won five of their last 10 Tests against New Zealand.

New Zealand vs Ireland, Rugby World Cup France 2023. (credit: Xavier Laine / Getty Images)

This rugby union fixture dates back to the first match played between the two in 1905. New Zealand won that first match 15-0 at Lansdowne Road in Ireland, the site of their first seven Test clashes. Ireland waited 29 Tests for their first win, a 40-29 victory over New Zealand in the USA in 2016.

New Zealand won the first three series between the sides 2-0 (1992, 2002 and 2006), winning the fourth series 3-0 in 2012. They drew the 2016 series 1-1 and Ireland won the 2022 series 2-1. New Zealand’s best winning streak was 22 wins in a row (1974 to 2016), while Ireland have only once won two matches in a row, which was in 2022 when they came from 1-0 down in New Zealand to claim a 2-1 series win.

Table of contents
England vs Australia Head-to-Head Record
Latest Results
Rugby World Cup Record

Ireland vs New Zealand Head-to-Head Record

Both Ireland and New Zealand are ranked among the consistently top nations in Rugby Union. The All Blacks won 27 of their first 28 Tests against Ireland, with the other Test drawn 10-10 at Lansdowne Road. Ireland’s first win over New Zealand came in Test 29 in 2016 when the UK side won 40-29 at Soccer Field in Chicago in the USA.

Ireland’s first win against New Zealand saw them start to challenge New Zealand, with the Irish beating the All Blacks in five of their last nine Tests.

Ireland enjoyed a good winning streak from 2021 to 2022, winning three out of their four Tests against New Zealand, when they won their first series against New Zealand, a 2-1 victory in New Zealand.

Info	Played	Won by Ireland	Won by New Zealand	Drawn
Overall	38	5	32	1
In Ireland	19	2	16	1
In New Zealand	15	2	13	0
Neutral Venue	4	1	3	0

Latest Results

Date	Result	Score	Stadium	Country
16 June 2012	New Zealand Won	22–19	Rugby League Park	New Zealand
23 June 2012	New Zealand Won	60–0	Waikato Stadium	New Zealand
24 November 2013	New Zealand Won	22–24	Aviva Stadium	Ireland
5 November 2016	Ireland Won	40–29	Soldier Field	USA
19 November 2016	New Zealand Won	9–21	Aviva Stadium	Ireland
17 November 2018	Ireland Won	16–9	Aviva Stadium	Ireland
19 October 2019	New Zealand Won	46–14	Tokyo Stadium	Japan
13 November 2021	Ireland Won	29–20	Aviva Stadium	Ireland
2 July 2022	New Zealand Won	42–19	Eden Park	New Zealand
9 July 2022	Ireland Won	12–23	Forsyth Barr Stadium	New Zealand
16 July 2022	Ireland Won	22–32	Wellington Regional Stadium	New Zealand
14 October 2023	New Zealand Won	24–28	Stade de France	France
8 November 2024	New Zealand Won	13-23	Aviva Stadium	Ireland

Rugby World Cup Record

Ireland and New Zealand have met on three occasions in the Rugby World Cup. The first meeting at the World Cup took place in 1995, when New Zealand demolished Ireland 43-19 at Ellis Park in their group stage clash.

New Zealand have won all three matches between the two nations in the World Cup. Their first meeting was in the group stages, but their last two meetings were in the quarter-finals.