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
Conversion (gridiron football) still used in American football rule books), and thus early scoring rubrics for the game gave more points to the subsequent kick than the actual advancement of the ball over the goal line. The related term "conversion" is still used in both rugby union and rugby league to refer to extra points scored by kicking the ball through the posts after a try has been scored. By the start of the 20th century, touchdowns had become more important and the roles of touchdown and kick were reversed. By this time the point value for the after-touchdown kick had reduced to