Ireland well beaten by All Blacks in Chicago rematch

Monday, 3 November 2025 06:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

New Zealand have won their past three meetings with Ireland

New Zealand ended a nine-year wait to avenge one of their most painful defeats as they comfortably beat Ireland in a Chicago rematch that failed to live up to the pre-game hype.

Having suffered their first-ever defeat by Ireland at Soldier Field in 2016, the All Blacks came from behind in an impressive second-half showing to crush Irish hopes of another memorable day in America.

Ireland lost influential forward Tadhg Beirne to a red card after three minutes, and while Tadhg Furlong’s try helped them lead 10-0, Ardie Savea’s fine score brought the All Blacks to within three at the break.

Jack Crowley’s penalty stretched Ireland’s lead to 13-7 early in the second half, but that proved their last score as Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi, and Cameron Roigard all crossed in the space of 15 minutes to ensure a deserved win for the southern hemisphere giants.

It is a bitterly disappointing result for Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell on his return from his British and Irish Lions sabbatical.

New Zealand, however, will be confident of securing a Grand Slam of the northern hemisphere after clinching a third successive win over Ireland in front of a sell-out 61,841 crowd at Soldier Field.