Match Details
This game will be played at Stade de France, Saint Denis – Kick Off time: 20:00 (BST)
Ireland vs New Zealand – Preview
Three-time champions New Zealand stand in the way of rugby’s top-ranked nation Ireland securing a maiden semi-final berth at the World Cup.
In-form Ireland are favourites for Saturday evening’s hotly anticipated quarter-final in Paris and have arguably never been better placed to go all the way.
The two nations clashed at this very same stage in the 2019 World Cup, with the All Blacks walking away as the 46-14 victors on that occasion.
Since being eliminated in Tokyo in 2019, Ireland have won three of four subsequent meetings with the Kiwis, including last summer’s landmark tour triumph.
In fact, with the Irish currently favourites with most bookmakers to go all the way, Andy Farrell’s side will certainly fancy their chances against New Zealand.
The Irish are in the midst of an epic 18-match winning run across all competitions. Their last four wins came in their World Cup pool as they comfortably dispatched Romania and Tonga before getting the better of South Africa and Scotland.
Ireland haven’t tasted defeat since July 2022 when it was New Zealand who prevailed in an international friendly at Eden Park.
Ian Foster’s men will be looking to replicate that outcome as they look to continue their emphatic scoring run at this World Cup.
After falling to a 27-13 defeat to France in the pool opener, New Zealand have gone on to completely demolish Namibia, Italy and Uruguay.
The word ‘demolish’ doesn’t do it justice considering the All Blacks scored a combined 240 points across those three outings alone.
Of course, the level of opposition will always dictate how many points a side is able to get on the board, and Ireland will certainly be no pushovers.
Expect this to be a low-scoring match where one mistake could decide the outcome of the match if not the tournament.
Backing the wings Mack Hansen and Will Jordan to both score in the match is a decent percentage punt.
Ireland should win but probably won’t manage to do so by more than five points.
Jonny Sexton has been at the heart of Ireland’s great form and is likely to be the first man on the board in this match.
Ireland vs New Zealand – Predictions:
- Total match points under 40
- Hansen and Jordan to score
- Winning margin 1-12
