Ireland ended their campaign with a 40-21 loss in Eden Park in Auckland against New Zealand who extended their unbeaten record in Eden Park that goes back to 1994. Ireland will know they were second best today and left a few chances slip but also ball handling and tackling let them down when you need to be almost perfect to stand any hope of turning New Zealand over on home soil.

Andy Farrell had talked up Ireland chances this week in the build-up and was “excited” to see could Ireland turn New Zealand over in Auckland.

In truth, this Ireland performance never got off the ground and while some refereeing calls will be questioned New Zealand were well in control of this game and were well worth there win.

Ireland struggled to get any meaningful go forward ball and Nic Berry was very strong and clear in how he refereed the breakdown by talking both sides through nearly every breakdown. Ireland did not seem to read the memo and were continually pinged or “not rolling away” or “pinning the man in”.  

Ireland were guilty of handing back control to New Zealand in particular just before the break where Ireland come back into the game having being 14-0 down to make it 14-7 and instead of setting up to clear their lines, Stuart Mc Closkey decided to play from his own line except nobody read the script and Ireland were back behind their own line when Will Jordan seized the loose ball and dived over to score try number 51 in an All Black shirt.

Ireland then conceded another score 2 minutes from the whistle and your now 28-7 down rather than 14-7 going in at the half. Those two scores kept New Zealand at arm’s length and allowed them to take the foot off the accelerator in the second half.  

This showing was very familiar to those of us who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s when brave showings and wilting were the norm. Ireland have found a way to win over the first 2 weeks but today the failings and issues that dogged Ireland against both Australia and Japan were ruthlessly exposed.

Andy Farrell is locked in until 2031 but his assistants tellingly have not as of yet signed extensions, It might be time for a refreshing in the coaches box although the timing will be tricky as the World Cup is in late 2027 and most coaching teams will be ramping up there preparations for late 2027 in Australia.

Andrew Goodman has struggled to get his message across since taking on the backs coaching job from Mike Catt and although they did win 4 from 5 in this year’s 6 Nations and injuries have reduced options in the backs and he will know he will need to get which ever backs are selected firing with fluency.

The end could be nigh for men like Bundee Aki, guys like Jude Postlewaite, Dan Kelly are waiting there chance and yes there club seasons didn’t end well, it’s time these men were thrown in and see how they go.

As I mentioned before this Nations Championship began, a number of men were fortunate to get into the squad. It seemed some selections were purely based on work done rather than current form. I am afraid it might be time that Andy Farrell goes back now and reflects on the past 3 weeks coupled with the 6 Nations campaign and assess his options as we head into the new season which begins in late September.

Several of this squad will get a well-deserved break and rest. For a number of the guys involved this season is almost 12 months old. I am not suggesting that had any impact on this morning’s display. New blood is a must in the Irish set up to freshen things up.

There is plenty to digest after the international season and plenty to work on heading into next season. Certain aspects of today’s game worked but only marginally better than the previous 2 weeks.

Injuries did rule out a number of big players like Mack Hansen, Jack Crowley, Tommy O Brien, Calvin Nash, Ryan Baird, Jack Boyle and Andrew Porter to name a few ruled out through injury. In another way, those injuries meant that other players were put to head of the queue and had to step and be counted.

The past 3 weeks have shown me that while Andy Farrell has been handed the keys until 2031 plenty of work will be needed to get Ireland back and truly firing before the 2^nd leg of the Nations Championship in November where Ireland will face Argentina, Fiji and South Africa.

If I was asked for an overall statement on the international year, I would say plenty of work to be done, high points beating Scotland and England in the 6 Nations in dramatic fashion to end the 6 Nations on a high note.

For the players and coaches the break will be welcome and they will know that they have a lot of work to do when they next come into camp to build up to leg 2 of the Nations Championship.

Let’s see what season 26/27 will bring but for now I’ll enjoy a few weeks where I won’t be seeing oval balls in my sleep…..

Ireland face New Zealand next Saturday in Eden Park in Auckland. They faced them there in 2022 in the first game of that summer tour.

Eden Park is a fortress as New Zealand haven’t lost there since 1994 although that particular stat comes with a caveat as New Zealand do not play all their home games in Auckland and while it’s impressive to see it and say it, but one day they will be defeated and Ireland will hope they can be the ones to do it having won a test series in 2022 in New Zealand.

Ireland have beaten both Australia and Japan in the past 2 weeks and will be hoping to put in their best showing on New Zealand soil to end the 2025/2026 season on the ultimate high note.

Given the performances of the recent weeks where the Irish set piece has not covered itself in glory in particular the line out has faltered again, men like Paul O Connell, John Fogarty will earn their money trying to solve the issues that have dogged this campaign as well as the 6 Nations earlier in the year.

Ireland manged to get the wins against Australia and Japan while the set piece didn’t function and while that was good enough on those days you can be certain New Zealand will zone in on those issues and go after the line out and scrum to really try and drive home any weakness that may feel is there to be exploited.

Will Jordan will be in the New Zealand back 3 fresh from surpassing Doug Howlett’s try scoring record of 49 tries that stood for many years. He now has 50 tries in 56 caps.

While many All Blacks have tried Jordan has gone and done it while Beaudan Barrett is on 45 tries and can continue his own quest in trying to go beyond Will Jordan an interesting small sub plot over the next while as they face Ireland and then face South Africa on another tour in place of the Rugby Championship.

Ireland know they have a shot at doing the unthinkable by defeating New Zealand in Auckland and while many will think it will be another New Zealand win you can be certain Andy Farrell will not be saying that to his squad.

The performances of the last 2 weeks make that win highly unlikely but I said something like that in 2022 and look how that Tour ended !! It will take an almighty effort as has already been spoken of. It’s a last game of a very long season and history awaits if they can summon up one final big showing before a well-earned rest.

Here is the 23 I would select to face New Zealand on Saturday  at 8.10am…

15 Hugo Keenan

14 Robert Balcounne

13 Garry Ringrose

12 Stuart Mc Closkey

11 Jamie Osbourne

10 Sam Prendergast

9 Jamison Gibson Park

8 Sean Jansen

7 Nick Timoney

6 Jack Conan

5 Tadgh Beirne

4 Joe Mc Carthy

3 Tadgh Furlong

2 Dan Sheehan

1 Tom O Toole

–

16 Ronan Kelleher

17 Billy Bohan

18 Thomas Clarkson

19 James Ryan

20 Josh Van Der Flier

21 Nathan Doak

22 Ciaran Frawley

23 Jacob Stockdale

After the tight victory over Australia, Ireland will now face Japan in Newcastle after Japan’s defeat at the hands of Italy.  Andy Farrell will make changes to his 23 for this week’s game and will change his starting team up by bringing in a number of players who were on the bench or not involved against Australia to face Japan.

Concussion will rule Jeremy Loughman out of contention and that will allow Billy Bohan come into the 23 either starting or from the bench. It will also be interesting to see who Farrell may ask to back up last Saturday’s game from the bench.

Here is the 23 I would select to face Japan on Saturday at 11am :

15 Jamie Osbourne

14 Robert Baloucounne

13 Bundee Aki

12 Robbie Henshaw

11 Jacob Stockdale

10 Ciaran Frawley

9 Nathan Doak

8 Sean Jansen

7 Nick Timoney

6 Cian Predergast

5 Darragh Murray

4 Cormac Izuchukwu

3 Sam Illo

2 Ronan Kelleher

1 Billy Bohan

–

16 Tom Stewart

17 Tom O Toole

18 Thomas Clarkson

19 James Ryan

20 Jack Conan

21 Craig Casey

22 Harry Byrne

23 Jimmy O Brien

Ireland begin there Nations Championship tomorrow with a game vs Australia in Sydney before facing Japan also in Australia before heading to New Zealand to face New Zealand in Eden Park. Andy Farrell has named his 23 with Sam Prendergast returning to the 10 shirt with Ciaran Frawley waiting in the wings for his opportunity.

Stuart Mc Closkey comes back in the centre to partner Garry Ringrose while Jamie Osbourne fills the left wing slot left vacant by the departure of James Lowe who has moved to Japan after 9 years with Leinster and the past 6 in the green of Ireland winning 45 caps.

Ireland have a good chance at winning at least 2 of the 3 games over the next few weeks, Australia will see a chance at lowering the flag of Ireland in the opening game of the recently created Nations Championship. Andy Farrell has gone with the tried and trusted and only injury ruled a few players out another few of his go to men would be involved.

By the selection for tomorrow a clear picture can be seen as to who will see game time to play Japan before they go to try and do something that hasn’t been done since 1994 and that is defeat New Zealand in Eden Park, France are the last team to do that on a summer tour back then.

On one hand, I can understand why Farrell has gone down the tried and trusted route and no one wants to return to the summer tour hammering of 2012 when New Zealand battered a tiring Ireland by 60-0. These 3 games are well placed with Japan sandwiched in the middle.

Australia have their own agenda and will see this as a shot at starting the next few weeks on the right footing as the Australian Super Rugby sides did not have the best year in Super Rugby as a whole.

The side selected by Joe Schmidt see the likes of Ryan Lonergan and Carter Gordon at half back with Carter Gordan back in Union after a spell in the NRL after the 2023 World Cup and looking to nail down a squad spot into the future.

With Les Kiss due to step into the Aussie coaching hot seat after this campaign, several players will be looking to start on the right foot and a win over Ireland would begin the summer on the right note.

Ireland have gone with experience over any new caps or many fresh faces and in the short term that is ok but the long term view will be that the age profile of the Irish squad is beginning to become an issue even if Farrell and company may not see it that way with one eye on the RWC in late 2027 and while the RWC can’t be the whole reason for giving some new boys an opportunity, a few men can just be classed as simply unlucky not to be in the squad.

Australia will sense a chance at starting their summer programme on the right foot with no Rugby Championship to book end the summer as New Zealand and South Africa have their own private party with Australia and Argentina looking on from the outside and that won’t help either team and will only cause ill feeling again no matter what may be said in public.

The New Zealand tour of South Africa is a novel idea and harks back to tours of old times, in the modern era to leave a Rugby Championship campaign on ice just to benefit New Zealand and South Africa doesn’t sit well and you can sure that the people that matter have made their feelings clear about the whole situation.

Back to Ireland, they won a series in Australia back in 2018 that saw Tadgh Beirne debut after his confirmed move back to Munster after a few seasons with Scarlets. He will be on the bench this weekend with James Ryan and Joe Mc Carthy in the engine room for the game in Sydney.

It’s the beginning of a new Championship with a shiny trophy to be claimed next November up here, 12 of the best sides will face off against each other and while Rugby Union will really have to fight for column inches due to the World Cup on the global stage, here in Ireland the All Ireland series in both hurling and football is at the semi-final stage.

The only benefit for rugby is that the games are early in the day over the next 3 weeks with an 11am kick off tomorrow, the same kick off slot next weekend and an 8am kick off when they face New Zealand on July 18^th.

It has been a long season for some of Ireland’s best players but they will have to focus the mind for one final push before a well-earned and deserved summer break will be upon them but before then though they face Australia, Japan and New Zealand and that will occupy the minds of supporters, players and management…