Ireland will kick off their Autumn International fixtures – an annual series of Test matches where Southern Hemisphere teams take on Northern Hemisphere teams – with a big clash against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.
There will be a raucous atmosphere in Dublin as the men in green will look to get their revenge after being knocked out of the 2023 World Cup by the All Blacks. Doing so would set up the potential Grand Slam from this autumn’s Tests. We’ll be following all the rugby action but here’s a current overview of players and opponents to look out for.
Our team are experienced, and ready to win again
There are reasons to be hopeful of Ireland making a positive start with skipper Caelan Doris at the helm. The Leinster number eight took some advice from previous captains Johnny Sexton and Peter O’Mahony about the permanent role that he has taken up ahead of this series.
Doris, who scored his first international try for Ireland against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in 2021, takes over as squad captain from O’Mahony. He has previous captaincy credentials, having led the U20 side in the 2018 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. The 2023 Irish men’s Players’ Player of the Year had his first taste of the captaincy against Italy in the 2024 Six Nations.
With a settled squad and the Six Nations title under their belt, Ireland look set to hit the ground running against the All Blacks. However, there are slight concerns over the full fitness of Peter O’Mahony and Ciarán Frawley heading into the autumn series.
Ireland will have to dig the deepest in the front row, with hooker Dan Sheehan missing through injury and back-ups Ronan Kelleher and Rob Herring working their way back to full fitness. Leinster prop Tadhg Furlong has also been ruled out of the match, and the last thing that Ireland will want is to concede any advantage up front to the powerful, mobile All Blacks.
Back in the saddle
The Autumn Internationals will be Ireland’s first action since their 1-1 series draw against reigning World champions South Africa in July. As expected, the trip to the Southern Hemisphere was always going to be a tough, bruising one for the Irish.
After a 27-20 loss to the Springboks in the opening Test, Ireland showed a lot of resilience in a breathtaking second fixture. Ireland had held a commanding 16-6 lead at the half-time break and then spent the next 40 minutes trying to repel wave after wave of Springbok power.
A drop goal by Ciarán Frawley in the very last action of the game gave Ireland a one-point victory. This was a big test of Ireland’s character and it showed that defence, determination and a sprinkling of individual brilliance can win matches.
Let’s take a look at our opponents
Ireland will square off against four Test nations in the Autumn Internationals, and a variety of opposing styles. It will be good preparation for their title defence in the 2025 Six Nations, and head coach Andy Farrell will look to rotate his players throughout the series.
New Zealand
This is the big one, the blockbuster opener. Ireland will have home advantage, but they haven’t played since July. During that same period, New Zealand have played nine Test matches, so they will arrive in Dublin sharp. The All Blacks have won their last four in a row, including back-to-back wins over Australia to secure the Rugby Championship in September.
Last weekend, they fought back to grab a narrow victory over England at Twickenham. However, the English had the All Blacks on the ropes for a good 60 minutes and Ireland can take heart from that. They will need to have their intensity dialled up right from the off.
Ireland are W3 L2 in their last five against the All Blacks, so they know how to beat them. This also means that the tourists will need to show the men in green just as much respect as Ireland do to them. The All Blacks will be missing fly-half Beauden Barrett and hooker Codie Taylor who picked up injuries last weekend against England.
Ireland have won their last five games at home, while New Zealand have won three of their last five on the road. The two losses for the All Blacks came in South Africa during this year’s Rugby Championship.
Argentina
Argentina had a very good Rugby Championship, winning three of their six matches. The biggest was their shock 38-30 victory against the All Blacks in Wellington, before they beat Australia and then South Africa. They are a bigger, more expansive threat at the moment than they have been for a long time, with strength up front and running power in the backs.
Argentina are W3 L2 in their last five, but along with the highs in that sequence, they also suffered some heavy losses, including conceding 40+ points against New Zealand and South Africa. The Pumas are playing an exciting brand of rugby at the moment and will present an interesting challenge to the Irish.
Ireland have won four of their last five against the Pumas, including a 53-7 home win in the 2021 Autumn Internationals.
Fiji
Fiji are a great side to watch as they love to throw the ball around. Ireland’s backs will have a lot of defending to do in this match against the power, pace and creativity that the Pacific Islanders have out wide. Fiji won this year’s Pacific Nations Cup, but were beaten heavily by Scotland in the opening round of the Autumn Internationals, shipping 57 points. Ireland last met Fiji in 2022 and won 35-17, and it would be nothing short of a seismic upset if Ireland didn’t pick up a win in this third Test of the Autumn Internationals.
Looking ahead to 30th November
The big finale of Ireland’s Autumn Internationals campaign is on 30th November when they host Australia. The Wallabies were hit-and-miss throughout the 2024 Rugby Championship and are still looking for a solid footing with Eddie Jones back in charge.
Australia finished bottom of the 2024 Rugby Championship with just one victory and only 11 tries scored, which was nine fewer than Argentina. That disappointing campaign, following a failure to get out of the group stage at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, largely because of a shock defeat against Fiji, shows the size of the rebuilding project the Wallabies have to undertake.
After having already met England, Wales and Scotland on this tour, Australia are likely to find a trip to the Aviva very tough. Ireland have won their last three on the spin against the Wallabies and will be favourites. The only struggle they could face is complacency if they are in a position to cap off a Grand Slam effort in the Autumn Internationals.
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