After a six-try defeat by New Zealand in Eden Park, Ireland have now lost six games in a row against the All Blacks, France and South Africa.

As the All Blacks extended their long unbeaten run at Eden Park to 53 matches with a 40-21 victory over Ireland, it was the continuation of a newer trend that will be of concern to Andy Farrell. The 19-point defeat means Farrell's side have lost their past six contests against New Zealand, France and South Africa by double-digit margins. Since the retirement of Johnny Sexton after the 2023 World Cup, Ireland have won just two such games, against a 14-man France to start the 2024 Six Nations and against the Springboks in Durban thanks to Ciaran Frawley's last-gasp drop goal later that same year. While their record against all other opposition remains stellar, and there have been notable highs such as March's thumping win over England in Twickenham, the 2025-26 campaign came to a close on Saturday morning with the feeling that the gap to the world's very best continues to widen. Ireland's three-game Nations Championship block in many ways felt like their past two years in microcosm. Against Australia and Japan across the first two rounds, they were strong enough to overcome shortcomings at the set-piece and an occasional lack of attacking fluidity to still bank a pair of bonus-point wins. When asked to make the step up to face New Zealand in their Auckland fortress, however, such struggles were punished ruthlessly. There was a direct throughline from James Ryan's spilled ball to the All Blacks' first score through Patrick Tuipulotu.