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Ireland and All Blacks to renew rivalry overseas again - report

By Josh Raisey
Hugo Keenan of Ireland and Beauden Barrett of New Zealand shake hands after the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ireland will take on New Zealand next year at the site of their first-ever win over the All Blacks, Chicago's Soldier Field, according to The Post in New Zealand.

The match will likely take place at the end of October or the beginning of November 2025, according to the report.

Ireland registered a 40-29 victory over the All Blacks in 2016 in front of a sellout crowd at Soldier Field, which marked the end of a 111-year wait for a win over the men in black.

Since then, Ireland have added another four more wins over the All Blacks across eight meetings, although they were on the losing side last year when the two sides met in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, as they were four years before at the same stage.

Before the potential meeting in the United States, the two sides will lock horns in Dublin this November, with Ireland kicking off their autumn series against Scott Roberston's side.

As things stand, it will be a meeting between the second and third-best teams in the world, with Ireland sitting just one place ahead of their 2025 opponents.

Ireland closed the gap on the Springboks at the top of the rankings with a 1-1 series draw with the world champions in South Africa earlier in July. Meanwhile, the All Blacks registered a 2-0 series win over England.

The All Blacks then triumphed over Fiji at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, which was the latest international fixture to be taken to the USA.

The men's 2031 World Cup will take place in the USA, as will the women's competition two years later.

All Blacks wing, and try-scorer, Caleb Clarke discussed the atmosphere created by the crowd after the match.

"San Diego is fun," he said. The crowd was electric. There was a point when I was screaming at Billy and Wallace [Sititi] and they couldn't hear me. I was about 10 metres away from them."