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
History of rugby union payment of players, which resulted in the formation of the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" was used to differentiate the original rugby code. For most of its history, rugby was a strictly amateur football code, and the sport's administrators frequently imposed bans and restrictions on players who they viewed as professional. It was not until 1995 that rugby union was declared an "open" game, and thus professionalism was sanctioned by the code's governing body, World Rugby—then known as the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB). Although rugby football was codified at Rugby School, many rugby playing