Ireland are set to take on New Zealand for the first time since the 2023 RWC quarter-final this Friday evening in one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures of the season.
Ireland currently sit top of the World Rugby Rankings while New Zealand sit closely behind them in third, should New Zealand overcome Andy Farrell's men in the Aviva Stadium they'll leapfrog them in the rankings.
While Ireland are the favourites heading into the test clash, New Zealand have racked up significantly more game time in the last few months than their Irish adversaries.
Ireland's last game was their sensational one-point win over South Africa in July. New Zealand on the other hand have played both The Rugby Championship and last week's Autumn International versus England where they won by two points in the intervening period.
When is Ireland v New Zealand
Ireland take on New Zealand this Friday the 8th of November in the Aviva Stadium. The game which will be played under the lights kicks off at 8:10pm.
How to watch Ireland v New Zealand
Ireland v New Zealand will be broadcast live on Virgin Media One and TNT Sports 1. The pre-match build-up gets underway on both channels at 7 pm.
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14 October 2023; Aaron Smith of New Zealand is tackled by Ireland players, from left, Iain Henderson, Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier during the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Team News
Ireland were handed a crushing blow earlier this week when it was revealed that Tadhg Furlong would be unavailable for selection in the Ireland v New Zealand clash, this means we'll likely see Finlay Bealham step into his regular spot and Ulster's Tom O'Toole come into the 23. The news adds to Ireland's row woes with Dan Sheehan also ruled out through injury.
In better news, Munster's Peter O'Mahony could be set to make a comeback this Friday after successfully getting forty minutes under his belt in the Munster v All Blacks XV clash, before rejoining the Ireland team's Portugal training camp this week.
We'll have all the team news here, as and when it's available.
Ireland
New Zealand
That's all the info you need on how to watch Ireland v New Zealand this Friday the 8th of November.
Ireland v New Zealand is the first of four Autumn Internationals that the Aviva Stadium will play host to this November, with Argentina, Fiji and Australia all making the trip to Dublin in the coming weeks as well.
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