After Ireland’s disastrous start to their tour of New Zealand, Andy Farrell’s side play the first of three Tests against the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday.
There was plenty of optimism among the tourists when they headed down to the Southern Hemisphere, but they were well beaten by the Maori All Blacks in their warm-up match earlier this week. While it was by no means a full-strength XV, the way they were dominated will be cause for concern.
Wednesday’s opponents scored four times in the first half in Hamilton and Farrell’s team were never able to pull themselves back into the game, suffering a 32-17 defeat.
New Zealand have brought in former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt to aid their preparations for the series opener at Eden Park and will be heavy favourites to get off to a winning start, despite concerns over the availability of a few of their players due to COVID-19.
Ireland produced a strong showing in the Six Nations earlier this year, finishing second to France, who were the only team to defeat them. Ireland also has an impressive recent record – three wins in their last five – against Saturday’s opponent.
But they’ve still never won a match in New Zealand and changing that at any point in July would be a massive boost ahead with next year’s World Cup on the horizon.
RadioTimes.com has rounded up everything you need to know about how to watch New Zealand v Ireland on TV and online.
When is New Zealand v Ireland?
New Zealand v Ireland will take place on Saturday 2nd July 2022.
The game takes place at Eden Park, the 50,000-capacity home of the Auckland Blues.
What time is kick-off?
New Zealand v Ireland will kick off at 8:05am.
You should also check out Australia v England, taking place in Perth this weekend too.
What TV channel is New Zealand v Ireland on?
You can watch the game live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event from 7:30am.
You can add the Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football channels for just £18 per month combined or pick up the complete sports package for just £25 per month.
How to live stream New Zealand v Ireland online
Sky Sports customers can live stream the game via the Sky Go app on a variety of devices including most smartphones and tablets as part of their subscription.
You can also watch the match via NOW without signing up to a contract.
NOW can be streamed through a computer or apps found on most smart TVs, phones and consoles. NOW is also available via BT Sport.
New Zealand v Ireland odds
In working partnership with the Radio Times, bet365 has provided the following betting odds for this event:
bet365 odds: New Zealand (1/5) Draw (33/1) Ireland (7/2)*
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