History of rugby union matches between Ireland and New Zealand History of rugby union matches between Ireland and New Zealand The New Zealand All Blacks first played against Ireland in 1905, beating them 15–0 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin. The two teams have played a total of 31 Test matches, with the All Blacks winning 28 of them, and losing two. The draw was in 1973 where Ireland and New Zealand drew 10-10 with Ireland scoring 2 penalties and a try, to the All Blacks 2 tries and 1 conversion (A try was worth four points in 1973). During the 2012 Irish Tour of New Zealand, New Zealand won all three
Rugby union in England schools such as Stonyhurst College or Sedbergh School who have historically provided many of the national players. It is also commonly played at Grammar schools, but Comprehensive schools in much of the country tended not to play the game, although this is no longer the case. Whilst rugby union was officially an amateur sport, many rugby union players came to play rugby league. In recent years this trend has reversed and some rugby league players have crossed codes to play union. Due to the split with most of the Yorkshire and Lancashire clubs, rugby union remained more popular in the