Mon. May 20th, 2024
Occasional Digest - a story for you

Steve Borthwick and Andy Farrell
England head coach Steve Borthwick and Ireland counterpart Andy Farrell will pit their wits against the All Blacks in 2024

World Cup runners-up New Zealand have revealed that they will face England and Ireland as part of their tour to the northern hemisphere in 2024.

The All Blacks will play England at Twickenham on Saturday 2 November, with a match against Ireland to follow on 9 November.

The tourists will also take on Japan, France and Italy in the autumn.

England will face New Zealand in Dunedin on 6 July, and again at Eden Park in Auckland a week later.

New Zealand have not lost at Eden Park since 1994.

The two-match Test series against England will see the hosts begin their season under new head coach Scott Robertson.

“Playing England under the roof in Dunedin is a great start for us in a world-class stadium, and then we go up to Auckland, where we have a great record that we are really proud of,” Robertson said in a statement.

The All Blacks’ meeting with Ireland will be a rematch of the memorable World Cup quarter-final between the sides last October, a game which saw New Zealand emerge 28-24 victors after a titanic struggle at Stade de France.

The last time New Zealand came to Dublin was in November 2021, when Ireland secured a 29-20 success.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell subsequently steered his side to a historic series win in New Zealand in the summer of 2022.

The All Blacks’ 14-match 2024 schedule will include a match against Pacific neighbours Fiji in San Diego on 19 July.

Chief executive Mark Robinson said New Zealand Rugby had a “long-held ambition” to play a Test in North America to promote the game there.

“We want to deliver an event that will capture the imagination of sports fans across the United States and showcases the best qualities of our game,” he added in a statement.

Defending champions New Zealand kick off their Rugby Championship campaign by hosting Argentina in Wellington on August 10, then play the Pumas in Auckland a week later.

New Zealand also face old foes South Africa and Australia away before hosting the Wallabies in Wellington in late September in the second of two Bledisloe Cup matches.

Source link

Discover more from Occasional Digest

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading