Soldier Field in Chicago is the venue for the last of Saturday’s November international rugby matches, an eagerly anticipated clash between Ireland and New Zealand
Ireland v New Zealand, Saturday 1st November, Chicago, KO 22:10 (South African time)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
Weather Forecast - Chicago
Ireland:
Soldier Field, Chicago may be a neutral venue but Ireland and the All Blacks have clashed here once before. The game was staged almost a decade ago and Ireland won 40-29 which was their first ever victory over the All Blacks.
Back to current times and Ireland’s mid year program saw them beat Georgia (34-5) and thrash Portugal (106-7).
In the Six Nations this year Ireland began with wins at home to England (27-22), in Scotland (32-18) and in Wales (7-18). They lost a crucial game at home to France (42-27) before finishing off with a 22-17 win in Italy. Although they had the same win / loss record as the top 2 sides Ireland finished third in the standings, 1 point behind England and 2 shy of France.
In the November international series of 2024 Ireland lost at home to New Zealand (23-13) before wins over Argentina (22-19), Fiji (52-17) and Australia (22-19).
After this Ireland will host Japan, Australia and South Africa.
New Zealand:
New Zealand won 4 and lost 2 of their Rugby Championship matches this year, finishing as runners up to the Springboks with both teams on 19 points.
They began well with a 41-24 victory away to Los Pumas but having remained in Argentina for the second round the roles were reversed and they went down 29-23. In Round 3 they edged out the Springboks 24-17 in Auckland but a round later the wheels came off in Wellington as the Boks romped to a record 43-10 win. The All Blacks did finish with back to back wins over the Wallabies (33-24 at home and 28-14 away) but their points difference was way inferior to that of South Africa.
In July New Zealand completed a 3-0 clean sweep of a visiting French team, winning the first test 31-27, the second 43-17 and the third 29-19.
In the November 2024 series the All Blacks beat England (24-22) at Twickenham and also got the better of Ireland (23-13) in Dublin. They lost a thriller in France (30-29) and finished off with a 29-11 victory in Italy.
After this New Zealand will visit Scotland, England and Wales
Recent Head to Head
Nov 24 INT Dublin Ireland 13-23 New Zealand
Oct 23 RWC Paris Ireland 24-28 New Zealand
Jul 22 INT Wellington New Zealand 22–32 Ireland
Jul 22 INT Dunedin New Zealand 12–23 Ireland
Jul 22 INT Auckland New Zealand 42–19 Ireland
Team News
Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (captain), 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Paddy McCarthy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Caelan Doris, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Bundee Aki
New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 23 Damian McKenzie
The Betting
Average early show, subject to change
Ireland +5.5 points at 9/10
New Zealand -5.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
This Weeks Bets
Brent Graham's betting angle and plays for this week’s internationals will be posted on this blog.
Finally, all this week's rugby tips from members of the Goodforthegame community can be found on the weekly rugby thread on our brand new discussion forum. If you haven't done so already, register a forum account here.
