The All Blacks secured a convincing victory over Ireland with a score of 40-21 in a tense match held on Saturday at Eden Park. This win allowed the New Zealanders to extend their impressive unbeaten run at the stadium to 53 matches.
In the first half, the All Blacks demonstrated dominant play, scoring four of their six tries, which put them ahead 28-7 at halftime. This secured their third win out of three in the debut Nations Championship.
Ireland, playing its final match of the season, could not challenge the hosts' 32-year record in Auckland. The visiting team faced issues early in the game, making numerous errors in the ball contest and fundamental handling mistakes. Although the visitors improved their play as the match progressed, they failed to add to their wins this month in the Nations Championship against the Wallabies and Japan in Australia.
Patrick Tuipulotu scored the first try for New Zealand, capitalizing on a short pass from teammate Josh Lord. Captain Ardie Savea increased the lead to 14-0 by breaking through the line directly after a scrum and holding off two defenders. The hosts were reduced to fourteen players for ten minutes when flanker Luke Jakobson received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the ruck that hit Josh van der Flier's head. Ireland capitalized on this advantage when backline forward Jack Conan powerfully crossed the line from close range.
Any counter-attack threat was nullified a few minutes later when Will Jordan capitalized on a loose ball, scoring the sixth try in three matches for the All Blacks winger. Substitute hooker Asafo Amua's attempt late in the first half effectively condemned Ireland to a fourth consecutive defeat to New Zealand.
In a more balanced second half, impressive Irish player lock Joe McCarthy opened the scoring, after which New Zealand fullback Damian McKenzie responded, maintaining a 21-point lead. Hugo Keenan crossed the line in the corner with almost twenty minutes left in the match, but Ireland failed to create any more attacking opportunities. The final word was spoken by substitute back Anton Linehart-Brown, who scored a corner try.
New All Blacks coach Dave Rennie began his tenure with promise, as his team showed improved play following home victories over France and Italy. The next stop will be a tour of South Africa, where they will play four matches against the world champions.
Coach Dave Rennie assessed the New Zealand team's game against Italy as 'satisfactory' after the victory over the Italians, but emphasized that the All Blacks must improve their play to win the upcoming match against Ireland between the two undefeated World Cup teams.
On Saturday in Wellington, the home team managed to overcome the deficit within half an hour, winning 47-17 against the Italian team, which ranked 10th. A significant contribution came from winger Will Jordan's hat-trick, which helped him reach a record of 50 goals in matches for New Zealand.
Similar to the 32-30 victory over France a week earlier, in Rennie's first match after Scott Robertson's dismissal, New Zealand demonstrated a combination of a dominant attacking style and a high number of errors. Rennie noted that the period when the team scored four goals in 14 minutes immediately after the break showed the team's potential with coordinated execution. However, in the final stages, the game became too relaxed, especially against the 14 Italian players after Niccolò Cannone received a red card for a header.
Rennie admitted that the team was quite passive in defense during the first ten or fifteen minutes. He added that they played excellently after the break, maintaining a pace that was difficult for the opponent to handle, so it was disappointing that they could not capitalize on this advantage in the last twenty minutes. Thus, he called the game 'satisfactory' but stated that they will need to play better next week.
The Irish team, ranked third in the world, arrives after victories with bonus points against Australia and Japan, allowing them to lead the Northern Hemisphere after two rounds of the debut World Cup. The Irish are aiming to become the first team to defeat the All Blacks at Eden Park stadium in 32 years. Rennie considers Ireland a strong, well-trained, and confident team, and expects it to be a serious test. He stressed that the Irish are a very intelligent defensive team, and they will have to make decisions.
Rennie was uncertain about the availability of winger Leroy Carter and flanker Luca Jakobson due to injuries that forced them off the field. The coach highly praised Jordan, whose five goals in two matches allowed him to surpass several former great New Zealand players, including Christian Cullen, Jonah Lomu, Jeff Wilson, and Doug Howlett. Jordan himself expressed surprise at finding himself ahead of these legendary athletes, noting that watching them as a young person was incredible, and although he does not yet see himself among them, it is a special honor to be among these names.
The World Cup has once again reached a familiar stage, with three European powers and one South American representative remaining in the quarter-finals. This highlights the dominance of two continents on the world's biggest football stage over many generations.
England, France, and Spain will participate in the final quartet, representing Europe. Argentina, the reigning champion, is the sole South American representative to reach the semi-finals after dramatic victories in the quarter-finals against Norway and Switzerland, respectively.
Thus, all remaining contenders for the title come from two confederations that have won every World Cup since its inception in 1930. Despite the expanded 48-team tournament providing more competitive matches, the later stages have once again become a familiar zone of strength for European elites.
France continues to demonstrate squad depth, which has made it one of the most stable forces in international football over the last decade. The Spanish team, in turn, has shown a combination of technical skill and tactical maturity thanks to its young squad.
England showed both resilience and brilliance, overcoming difficult knockout matches to maintain hope of winning its first World Cup since 1966. Argentina, led by Lionel Messi and supported by an experienced and high-quality squad, has once again managed the pressure of the playoffs, remaining in the title race consecutively.
The composition of the semi-finalists also gives insight into the progress in other regions. Africa held its strongest collective tournament, as nine out of ten participants reached the knockout stage. Asia and North America also made memorable moments during the tournament.
South Africa made history by reaching the playoffs for the first time, and Morocco once again proved its ability to compete with the best in the world. Furthermore, a number of developing nations have shown that the gap between them is gradually narrowing.
However, when the pressure intensified and the margin narrowed, established European powers found a way to prevail once again. This consistency is based not only on individual talent. The continent continues to benefit from elite coaching structures, top domestic leagues, and players who feature weekly in the UEFA Champions League and leading European competitions. This experience often proves decisive when World Cup matches are decided by moments rather than sheer dominance.
The 2026 tournament undoubtedly demonstrated the growing competitiveness of world football. Smaller nations challenged traditional powers, underdogs advanced further than expected, and the expanded format brought fresh stories. Nevertheless, as the World Cup enters its decisive week, the familiar balance of power remains unchanged. Europe continues to set the standard, and if the rest of the world hopes to win the ultimate football prize, it will once again have to find a way to overcome the continent that continues to define success in this greatest game.
The Springboks team demonstrated powerful play during their Nations Championship match against England, which took place on a Saturday night at Ellis Park stadium.
Despite the Springboks not playing at their best on Saturday night at Ellis Park against England, they were still too strong for the visitors, winning with a score of 43:21 in the opening Nations Championship match.
The victory was secured by touchdowns scored by players: the prop Thomas du Toit, wingers Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse, scrum-half Grant Williams, centre Jesse Kriel, hooker Malcolm Marks, and utility forward Ben-Jason Dixon. Additionally, Kolbe contributed several extra points through conversions.
For their part, England scored goals through prop Ellis Genge, locks George Martin and Alex Cole, while fullback Finn Smith successfully converted penalties. In the last ten minutes of the match, players Tommy Freeman and Pepper received yellow cards, forcing England to finish the game with 13 players.
