The warning signs for All Blacks as stunning Eden Park streak faces Irish threat in Nations Championship

Thursday, 16 July 2026

Eden Park has been a field of dreams for the All Blacks, who boast a stunning 32-year, 52-match unbeaten streak there.

ANALYSIS: The last three times the All Blacks have turned up to Eden Park, they have had a particular chip on their shoulder which has helped them to successfully defend their famous fortress.

And so while their 32-year, 52-match unbeaten run at the Auckland venue has become the stuff of legend, there are some warning signs as to why Saturday night’s Nations Championship test against Ireland could be the ultimate threat to that stunning streak.

Consider the circumstances around many of the recent tests played at New Zealand’s ‘national’ (at least biggest) stadium, and it builds a picture of why, despite the All Blacks’ patchy form of the last decade, they have still been able to come up trumps at there.

Take the last outing, last September, in a Bledisloe Cup-defending 33-24 Rugby Championship win over the Wallabies. That came in the very next game after the 43-10 loss to the Springboks in Wellington ‒ the All Blacks’ biggest defeat of all-time.

Talk about some wrongs to right.

Just a week before that humiliation, the All Blacks had produced an epic 24-17 victory over the two-time reigning world champion South Africans in their hugely-anticipated Eden Park showdown, which also happened to be the 100th test of their spiritual leader, Ardie Savea. That came on the back of an ugly 29-23 defeat to Argentina in Buenos Aires.

Talk about easy motivation.

Then go back to 2024, and the All Blacks put on a 42-10 thumping of Argentina. That came a week after they had slumped to a historic home loss (38-30) to the Pumas in Wellington.

Talk about a point to prove.

Even the two times at Eden Park before that (a 24-17 win over England in 2024 and a 40-14 victory over Australia in 2022), while they did not follow losses, they were fresh off get-out-of-jail wins against the same opponents the week prior ‒ 16-15 against the English in Dunedin in Scott Robertson’s first test in charge, and 39-37 against the Wallabies in Melbourne, memorable for the late free-kick time-wasting controversy.

Ireland celebrate a try during their historic 2022 series-clinching victory over the All Blacks.

Also cast an eye back to 2020 and 2019, and the Eden Park floggings of the Wallabies (27-7 and 36-0, respectively). Each had each come seven days after disappointment to the same opponents, with a 16-16 draw in Wellington in Ian Foster’s first fixture at the helm, and the year prior a 47-26 loss in Perth that at the time was the All Blacks’ worst-ever.

While the All Blacks have been shaky in their first-up wins in the Dave Rennie era over France and Italy, there is nowhere near the same sort of bounce-back factor to throw into the motivational mix this time around.

Adding to the intrigue is that in those past three Eden Park games following losses, the All Blacks have seemingly been so set to make good that they have raced out of the blocks, too, scoring the opening try of the game inside half a dozen minutes each time, and got out to healthy early leads ‒ 20-3 inside 25 minutes against the Wallabies, 14-0 inside 18 minutes against the Springboks, and 35-3 inside 38 minutes against the Pumas.

It has been the complete opposite scenario to date this year, the men in black conceding a try in the second minute against France and the third minute against Italy, before clawing their way back to lead at halftime ‒ an advantage they have also enjoyed in the Eden Park sheds some 45 of 52 times on this unbeaten run.

Intriguingly, Ireland have been similarly slow starters in their two Nations Championship games to date, conceding a third-minute try in their 33-31 win over Australia in Sydney and a fourth-minute one in their 36-20 victory over Japan in Newcastle.

Of the All Blacks’ current squad, only George Bower, Codie Taylor, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett were the players alive the last time the All Blacks lost at Eden Park, to France in 1994.

But Andy Farrell’s side will cross the ditch for their last game of the season with plenty of belief that they can be the ones to end this ridiculous run.

After all, they are No 3 in the world (not far behind No 2-ranked New Zealand) and across the last decade they are the opponent with the best win rate against the All Blacks.

That sits at 45.45%, thanks to five victories from 11 clashes, dating back to that historic triumph in Chicago in 2016, and sits marginally ahead of the Springboks’ 42.11% over the same period.

While the Irish have lost the last three encounters to New Zealand (last year in Chicago, 2024 in Dublin and the epic 2023 World Cup quarterfinal in Paris), it’s the two prior to that ‒ wins in 2022 in Dunedin and Wellington to seal a first-ever series win on these shores ‒ that will fuel them with confidence.

Eden Park is their next Everest.

They are 0-4 against the All Blacks there, including a 42-19 loss in that 2022 series-opener, though it’s not like they have never tasted victory at the venue before, after a 15-6 win over the Wallabies in pool play at the 2011 World Cup.

All Blacks’ unbeaten Eden Park streak

1994: drew with South Africa 18-18

1995: beat Canada 73-7, beat Australia 28-16

1996: beat Scotland 36-12

1997: beat South Africa 55-35

1998: beat England 40-10

1999: beat Australia 34-15

2000: beat Scotland 48-14

2001: beat South Africa 26-15

2002: beat Ireland 40-8

2003: beat Australia 21-17

2004: beat England 36-12

2005: beat Lions 38-19, beat Australia 34-24

2006: beat Ireland 27-17, beat Australia 34-27

2007: beat France 42-11, beat Australia 26-12

2008: beat England 37-20, beat Australia 39-10

2009: beat Australia 22-16

2010: beat South Africa 32-12

2011: beat Australia 30-14, beat Tonga 41-10, beat France 37-17, beat Argentina 33-10, beat Australia 20-6, beat France 8-7

2012: beat Ireland 42-10, beat Australia 22-0

2013: beat France 23-13, beat South Africa 29-15

2014: beat England 20-15, beat Australia 51-20

2015: beat Australia 41-13

2016: beat Wales 39-21, beat Australia 37-10

2017: beat Samoa 78-0, beat Lions 30-15, drew with Lions 15-15

2018: beat France 52-11, beat Australia 40-12

2019: beat Australia 36-0

2020: beat Australia 27-7

2021: beat Australia 33-25, beat Australia 57-22

2022: beat Ireland 42-19, beat Australia 40-14

2024: beat England 24-17, beat Argentina 42-10

2025: beat South Africa 24-17, beat Australia 33-24

(32 years, 52 matches, 50 wins, 2 draws, points for 1832, points against 736, average score 35-14)

Best head-to-head win rates v All Blacks in last decade

45.45%: Ireland (5 wins, 6 losses)

42.11%: South Africa (8 wins, 1 draw, 10 losses)

33.33%: British and Irish Lions (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss)

28.57%: England (2 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses)

25.00%: France (3 wins, 9 losses)

21.05%: Argentina (4 wins, 15 losses)

11.54%: Australia (3 wins, 1 draw, 22 losses)