The first action in the Nations Championship on Saturday comes from Auckland where New Zealand take on Ireland and both these sides have made a perfect start to the tournament.
New Zealand vs Ireland, Saturday 18th July, Auckland, KO 09:10 (South African time)
Referee: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referees: Luc Ramos (FFR), Damon Murphy (RA)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Weather Forecast – Auckland
New Zealand:
After winning both their matches with bonus points the All Blacks have the maximum 10 log points and they are second to South Africa who have also made a perfect start. The chasers are led by Argentina who are 4 points adrift.
The All Blacks put Italy away 47-17 in Wellington in Round 2. They needed 30 minutes to get in front on the scoreboard and it was only 14-10 at half time but the second half was a largely one sided contest and with Italy reduced to 14 men after the break New Zealand finished with 7 tries including a hat trick for Will Jordan.
The All Blacks took on France in the very first Nations Championship match in Christchurch in Round 1. France went ahead with a try in the second minute and it turned into a thrilling battle with New Zealand, who led 19-12 at half time eventually edging it 34-32, scoring 5 tries to 4 in Dave Rennie’s first game in charge. Cam Roigard and Will Jordan both scored 2 tries a piece and Peter Lakai also went over.
In the Nations Championship outright betting markets New Zealand can be backed at 4/1 to win the title with Hollywoodbets who make the Springboks 9/10 favourites
Nations Championship Results and Fixtures: R1 France (h) won 34-32, R2 Italy (h) won 47-17, R3 Ireland (h), R4 Scotland (a), R5 Wales (a), R6 England (a)
Ireland:
After two rounds of matches Ireland top the Northern Hemisphere log with the maximum of 10 log points, 3 clear of France, 4 better off than Scotland and 5 in front of England and Wales whilst Italy have yet to open their account.
Ireland took on Japan at a neutral venue in Australia in Round 2 and they came out on top 36-20. Four players were handed a debut in a much changed side who had to work hard but from 19-13 up at half time they more than maintained their advantage. Tries from Timoney, O’Toole, Henshaw, Jansen and Stewart earned another bonus point win.
In the opening round in Australia in Sydney Ireland edged a thriller 33-31. Tom Clarkson’s try at the death sealed the win after earlier scores from Prendergast, Van der Flier, Gibson-Park and Keenan.
In the Nations Championship outright betting markets Ireland can be backed at 6/1 to win the title with Hollywoodbets
Nations Championship Results and Fixtures: R1 Australia (a) won 33-31, R2 Japan (a) in Australia won 36-20, R3 New Zealand (a), R4 Argentina (h), R5 Fiji (h), R6 South Africa (h)
Recent Head to Head
Nov 2025 – International – Chicago – Ireland 13–26 New Zealand
Nov 2024 – International – Dublin – Ireland 13–23 New Zealand
Oct 2023 – Rugby World Cup – Paris - Ireland 24-28 New Zealand
Jul 2022 – International – Wellington – New Zealand 22–32 Ireland
Jul 2022 – International – Dunedin – New Zealand 12–23 Ireland
Jul 2022 – International – Auckland – New Zealand 42–19 Ireland
Team News
New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Anton Segner, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clarke
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadgh Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (captain), 1 Tom O’Toole.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Nick Timoney, 20 Sean Jansen, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Bundee Aki
The Betting
New Zealand -10.5 points at 9/10
Ireland +10.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
Bet: New Zealand v Ireland
(posted 17 July)
2 units (1–5): Under 56.5 points at 0.87 with BetXchange.
The Nations Championship has been characterised by high-scoring matches, but I think the unders could be the play here. There is some rain forecast, and with so much at stake for both teams, I expect this game to tighten up as it progresses.
New Zealand also put their proud Eden Park record on the line. While I'm staying out of the handicap market which sees New Zealand trading at -10.5, I do expect Ireland to push the All Blacks all the way.
More Rugby Bets
This week we have previews and Brent Graham’s bets for New Zealand vs Ireland, Australia vs Italy, South Africa vs Wales and Argentina vs England. More Nations Series and World U20 Championship bets from Brent and other members of our community will be posted weekly rugby thread on our brand new discussion forum. If you haven't done so already, register a forum account here.
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.