The decision comes following a meeting of the Football Association of Ireland Board and following a review.

Gleeson was initially appointed on an interim basis in August 2023, and led the team to promotion to League A in the UEFA Nations League before being confirmed as Head Coach on a full-time basis in December 2023.

Win over France a highlight

For the 2025 UEFA European Championships qualification campaign, a brilliant 3-1 win over France in Páirc Uí Chaoimh saw the side record their best ever result. The Women’s National Team went on to reach Round 2 of the Qualifying Play-Offs, where they narrowly lost to Cymru over two legs.

‘A terrific ambassador for women and girls’ football’

FAI CEO David Courell said: “On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we acknowledge the dedication and passion that Eileen has showed in leading the Ireland Women’s National Team over the last 16 months. Eileen has long been a terrific ambassador for women and girls’ football in Ireland and she leaves behind a positive impact on our Women’s National Team that included an excellent UEFA Nations League campaign, a memorable win over France in Cork and a run to the Play-Offs for EURO 2025. We thank Eileen for everything that she has done.”

The FAI has stated that the process to recruit a new Head Coach will begin immediately.

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The Willie Mullins-trained inmate will contest the day’s featured €100,000 Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase.

This will be Energumene’s first race for 593-days, not having been seen since his win in the Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival in 2023.

The French-bred son of Denham Road bids to claim a third victory in the Grade 2 Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase, following previous triumphs in the race in 2021 and 2022.

This year’s renewal of the race will boast the largest field since 2018, with eight runners set to participate, with six of them coming from Mullins’ powerful Closutton stable.

Mullins hoping to extend record

Energumene will be reunited with Cork jockey Paul Townend as he aims to extend Mullins’ incredible record in the race, having trained the winner of the Hilly Way Chase every year since 2007, with the exception of 2012 and 2018.

Among the other Mullins representatives will be Hunters Yarn and four other Grade 1 winners Dinoblue, Ferny Hollow, Appreciate It, and Blue Lord.

Patrick Mullins, Ireland’s champion amateur jockey, will ride Ferny Hollow; Mark Walsh will be aboard Dinoblue; Danny Mullins will partner Appreciate It, and Brian Hayes will take the mount on Hunters Yarn.

Despite his historic dominance in the race, and the strength of his participants for this season’s contest, Team Mullins will face a strong challenge from both the Joseph O’Brien and John Queally yards.

O’Brien’s Carriganóg team will be represented by Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase winner at last season’s Punchestown Festival, Banbridge.

Queally will have the recent Cork winner The Banger Doyle in the field.

Con O’Keeffe aims for another Mares’ Novice Chase win

The Grade 2 Coolmore NH Sires Order Of St George Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase at Cork Racecourse on Sunday has attracted a field of eight runners.

Last season’s successful handler with Silent Approach at 33/1, Con O’Keeffe, will be represented this time around by Kilbarry Saint.

Zenta, third in the race last year, will again contest the Grade 2 event, and will be joined by sable companion Karia Des Blaises.

The 2023 winning rider Danny Mullins will partner A Law Of Her Own from the Peter Fahey yard, while Henry de Bromhead will be represented by Nara.

This race has been won by mares of the calibre of Shattered Love (2017) and Vroom Vroom Mag (2014) in the past.

Six runners contest Grade 3 Stayers Novice Hurdle

The Grade 3 Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle, which has been won by eight different trainers in the past eight years, will have six runners on Sunday.

Ther Gordon Elliott-trained Minella Sixo may be the headline act, but Willie Mullins will be double-handed with Luckinthecity and Just For Love.

Cork-based trainers make up the remainder of the field: Jonathan Sweeney’s Churchroad Prince; recent 40/1 winner Therellbguddaysyet from Michael O’Connor’s stable, and Kilworth’s Desmond Kenneally has Pray Tell in the line-up.

The opening race of the seven-race card gets underway at Cork Racecourse, Mallow, at  12.03pm with the Bar One Racing 3YO Maiden Hurdle.

Racing will conclude at 3.25pm with the 24-runner Greenvalley Transport Novice Handicap Hurdle.

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In a game where the home side claimed a five-try bonus point victory, the most talked about incidents in this game will be four minutes of Stade Francais madness in the second half.

The visitors’ ill discipline saw two of their players, Pierre-Henri Azagoh and Baptiste Pesenti, red carded four foul play. Azagoh’s high and dangerous tackle on Peter O’Mahony meant the second row had to take an early shower.

Incredibly, his second row companion Pesenti followed him to the dressing room four minutes later. The big lock picked Munster’s Craig Casey up before dropping him dangerously on the ground.

First Half

Munster and Stade Francais entered this evening’s game with similar recent records in their domestic championships, with just two wins each in their last five games.

Munster won their second URC game of the season with a 17-10 victory over Lions last weekend, while Stade Francais lost 13-21 to Bayonne in their Top14 game last weekend.

In an opening half where Munster dominated on the scoreboard, the men in red ended the first half with a 14-0 lead over the Parisian side.

Abrahams opens scoring

Thaakir Abrahams put the home side on the scoreboard when crossing for a try on 15 minutes. A successful Jack Crowley kick for the posts, the first of two during the game’s opening 40 minutes, gave Inter Head Coach Ian Costello’s team a 7-0 advantage.

Alex Nankivell was sin-binned on 26 minutes for leading with his elbow. Ironically, it was during this 10 minute period, with Munster down to 14 men, that the side doubled their scoring.

Daly scores on 100th appearance

A beautiful piece of individual brilliance from Shane Daly on his 100th appearance for the province saw him kick the ball forward and chase it down to claim the 25th seven-pointer of his Munster career. The second successful kick of the night from Jack Crowley moved the home side into a 14-0 at half-time.

Half-time: Munster Rugby 14  Stade Francais Paris 0

Pierre-Henri Azagoh was red carded for foul play on Munster’s Peter O’Mahony on 49 minutes. The hosts immediately made their visitors pay for the infringement as Alex Klendellen crashed over for his side’s third try of the game. Jack Crowley maintained his excellent kicking record by adding another conversion.

Shortly afterwards, Baptiste Pesenti picked Craig Casey up and dumped him into the ground. Referee Luke Pearce had no hesitation in producing another red card, the second in four minutes, and reduced Stade Francais to 13 men.

Try for Farrell

Centre Tom Farrell soon added Munster’s fourth try of the evening, and with Crowley kicking successfully again, in difficult windy conditions, Munster were 28-0 with 55 minutes played.

Stade Francais finally got on the scoreboard after 59 minutes when front row Clement Castets touched down. An excellent conversion effort from Zack Henry was successful, leaving Munster with a 28-7 advantage.

Gavin Coombes completing the Munster scoring by claiming his 47th try for the province, as Jack Crowley missed his only kick of the night.

Munster ran out 33-7 winners over 13-man Stade Francais to claim an opening night Investec Champions Cup win.

Munster will travel to Castres Olympique next for their Friday evening Investec Champions Cup second round tie, while Stade Francais will host Saracens tomorrow week.

Full-time: Munster Rugby 33  Stade Francais Paris 7

Munster:

15 Shane Daly, 14  Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey.

1 Dian Bleuler, 2 Diarmuid Barron (captain), 3 John Ryan, 4 Evan O’Connell, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Alex Kendellen, 8 Gavin Coombes.

Munster Replacements:

16 Niall Scannell, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Jack O’Donoghue.

Stade Francais:

15 Joe Jonas, 14 Charles Laloi, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Pierre Boudehent, 11 Samuel Ezeala, 10 Zack Henry, 9 Thibaut Motassi.

1 Clement Castets, 2 Lucas Peyresblanques, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 4 Pierre-Henri Azagoh, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 6 Pierre Huguet, 7 Ryan Chapuis (captain), 8 Yoan Tanga.

Stade Francais Replacements:

16 Luka Petriashvili, 17 Moses Alo-Emile, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Setareki Turagacoke, 20 Andy Timo, 21 Juan Martin Scelzo, 22 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 23 Louis Carbonel.

Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)

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The game will be live on RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports 1.

Barron to captain Munster

Shane Daly starts at full-back on his 100th appearance for Munster with Diarmuid Barron captaining the side in the Champions Cup for the first time.

Academy lock Evan O’Connell keeps his place on the team to start on his first Champions Cup game, while Munster Rugby Academy prop Kieran Ryan is expected to make his first European appearance off the bench.

Daly is one of five changes to the starting Munster team that defeated Emirates Lions 17-10 last week.

Returning internationals

Returning Ireland internationals Calvin Nash, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey and Peter O’Mahony all start, with Tadhg Beirne named among the replacements.

Short-term signing Dian Bleuler, Tom Farrell and Thaakir Abrahams start on their first Champions Cup appearances for Munster.

Daly, Nash and Abrahams comprise the back three as Alex Nankivell, who has signed a new two-year contract, and Tom Farrell, continue their centre partnership.

Casey and Crowley are the half-backs.

Bleuler, Barron and John Ryan are in the front row with O’Connell and Fineen Wycherley completing an unchanged front five.

O’Mahony, Alex Kendellen and Gavin Coombes start together in the back row.

Replacements Bench

Niall Scannell, Kieran Ryan and Stephen Archer provide the front row back-up. Tadhg Beirne, John Hodnett and Jack O’Donoghue complete the forward cover.

Paddy Patterson and Billy Burns are the backline replacements with Burns set for his first appearance in the Champions Cup for the men in red.

Munster Team

15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams,  10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey.

1 Dian Bleuler, 2 Diarmuid Barron (captain), 3 John Ryan, 4 Evan O’Connell, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Alex Kendellen, 8 Gavin Coombes.

Munster Replacements

16 Niall Scannell, 17 Kieran Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Jack O’Donoghue.

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The fixture that marked the formal celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s first men’s fixture which took place during the 1874/’75 season.

This afternoon’s game saw Cian Healy set a new Ireland record as he won his 134th international cap.

Australia take early lead

A nervous Ireland found themselves on the back foot during the early stages of Saturday’s game.

A high tackle from Joe McCarthy, which was viewed by officials who decided only to award a penalty – and not go for a yellow card – saw Noah Lolesio kick an easy penalty from directly in front of the posts to put his side into the lead in the 10th minute.

Joe Schmidt’s visitors extended their advantage when Max Jorgensen scored the game’s opening try after 18 minutes.

As the Aussies became stronger, Ireland were stretched badly and under defensive pressure. Winger Kellaway looked to be heading in for a try only for a brilliant trip tackle from Sam Prendergast preventing the winger from scoring.

The visitors immediately spread the ball to the opposite side of the field and Max Jorgensen found himself in space. The Balmain Wolves’ player breached the try-scoring line for the opening five-pointer of the test match.

With Lolesio adding the extras, the Wallabies were in a 10-0 lead.

Van der Flier try

The concession of a penalty by the Wallabies led to Ireland’s first score of the game. With Australia on the back foot from the ensuing Ireland line-out, within three phases Gibson-Park broke for the line before passing to Van der Flier for his 13th international try.

Sam Prendergast missed the conversion opportunity, meaning it was double scores: Ireland 5 Australia 10.

A second successful Lolesio penalty kick extended the visitors’ lead to 13-5 –  the final score of the opening 40 minutes.

Half-time: Ireland 5  Australia 13

Ireland took their early second-half opportunity to reduce the deficit. Aussie prop James Slipper was penalised, giving Sam Prendergast a kick from the 10m line, directly in front of the posts. The Leinster kicker comfortably had both the direction and the distance to reduce his side’s deficit to 8-13.

Captain’s try 

With Ireland having the momentum, Andy Farrell’s side claimed their second try of the game shortly afterwards. Australia were penalised, and Prendergast kicked for the line. Winning their own throw-in, the home side, with a baying crowd behind them, made headway for the line, with captain, and eventual player of the match Caelin Doris, touching down to put the sides level for the first time in the game. The easy conversion kick, from directly in front of the posts, was slotted over by Prendergast, and Ireland took a 15-13 lead.

As Ireland made changes, one of them, Tom O’Toole was only on the field when conceding a penalty. The easy kick for Lolesio pushed his side back into a marginal 16-15 lead.

Another penalty kick from Lolesio, this time from 47 metres out, but directly in front of the posts, pushed his side into a 15-19 advantage, as the game entered the final quarter.

McCarthy try for Ireland

Replacement Gus McCarthy claimed his second international try after 73 minutes, before another Ireland replacement Jack Crowley successfully converted for a 22-19 lead for the home side – the final score of Ireland’s fourth Autumn Series international.

Today’s international test was the 38th meeting of Ireland and Australia, with the hosts having now 15 successes since the sides first met at Lansdowne Road on 12 November 1927. The Australians have 22 wins to their name and there has been one draw in games between the two countries.

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Trained by Gordon Elliott – the middle part of a treble – the 20/1 chance had two and half lengths in hand on Lucid Dreams from the John Ryan yard.

The runner-up, ridden by Danny Mullins, started at 22/1, while Yeah Man (16/1) and Perceval Legallois (10/1) finished third and fourth respectively.

The Grade 3 John Lynch Carpets Monksfield Novice Hurdle also went to the Gordon Elliott team through The Yellow Clay.

The 8/11 favourite, with Jack Kennedy in the saddle, came home a comfortable 10 length winner in the colours of Bective Stud.

Where’s My Jet (4/1) took the runner-up spot, ahead of Fleur In The Park (9/2) and Prends Garde A Toi in the two and a half mile contest.

Better Days Ahead (2/1) overturned the 1/2 favourite Slade Steel in the Race And Stay Irish EBF Beginners Chase.

In the ownership of Bective Stud, Jack Kennedy had four lengths of an advantage over the Henry de Bromhead-trained favourite at the winning post.

Big win for Ray Beckett

Tipperary handler Ray Beckett tasted success in the €45,000 Bar One Racing Tara Handicap Hurdle with 28/1 chance Sequoiaspirit, in the hands of jockey Liam Quinlan.

The opening Bar One Racing Boost 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle was won by race favourite Total Look at 11/4.

Trained by Gavin Cromwell and ridden by Keith Donoghue, the French-bred son of Cloth Of Stars held off Beyond Your Dreams (18/5) by half a length.

Cast A Spell (12/1) lost her maiden tag in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Mares) Maiden Hurdle over two miles.

Ridden by Cian Quirke for handler Tom Hogan, the six-year-old daughter of Mastercraftsman crossed the finishing line two lengths ahead of the odds-on favourite Qualimita (30/100) in the 21-runner race.

Another de Bronhead/O’Keeffe winner

The good form of Henry de Bromhead and Darragh O’Keeffe continued as Love Me (14/1) became the Waterford trainer’s ninth winner in 14 days when taking the Gaeil Colmcille GAA Kells Handicap Hurdle.

The concluding race of the successful two-day festival went to the Emmet Mullins-handled John Gleeson-ridden Churchfield Sunset at 7/1.

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With five winners for Elliott, his stable jockey Jack Kennedy rode three winners and top owners Bective Stud and Gigginstown House Stud both had two winners each.

Wingmen wins on hurdling debut

Dual bumper winner last season Wingmen (8/15 favourite) opened proceedings, taking the Kilderry Pub & Kitchen Maiden Hurdle for Noel and Valerie Moran of Bective Stud, and jockey Jack Kennedy.

The Fairyhouse bumper winner last month Blue De Vaissy (4/6 favourite) easily won the first graded race of the afternoon, the Grade 3 Bar One Racing For Auction Novice Hurdle over two miles, in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud, again in the hands of Kerry rider Jack Kennedy.

Found A Fifty claims Fortria Chase

The Grade 2 Bar One Racing Fortria Chase then fell to Elliott’s team, as Found A Fifty (11/8 favourite) gave Kennedy a treble and owners Bective Stud their double.

Down Memory Lane (7/1), third to Caldwell Potter in a Grade 1 novice hurdle at Leopardstown last Christmas, made a successful debut over the larger obstacles when winning the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase for the Cullentra House team, jockey Mark Walsh and owner J.P. McManus.

The five-timer was completed for Elliott in the Bar One Racing ‘Guaranteed Overnight Prices’ bumper when Harry Swan pushed the Gigginstown House Stud-owned favourite Whinney Hill (6/4 favourite) out to claim a three and a half length success.

Home By The Lee wins his second Lismullen

The Grade 2 Railway Bar Lismullen Hurdle over two and a half miles was won by Home By The Lee (7/1).

The 2022 winner of the race, and third-place finisher last year, is trained by Joseph O’Brien for Seán O’Driscoll and the nine-year-old was ridden by Danny Mullins.

Cork jockey Michael O’Sullivan gave Slane Hill (9/1) an enterprising ride in the Lisadell Equine Hospital Handicap Hurdle. Hitting the front early doors, the seven-year-old came home in splendid isolation for trainer and owner Barry Connell.

County Waterford trainer John Flavin was also among the winners with Clarens (9/1) a battling winner of the Hotel Park St. Johann in Tirol Austria Handicap Hurdle, under Alex Harvey.

Day two of the Navan Racing Festival gets underway at 11.35am on Sunday.

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In their 756th test match, and the 20th meeting between Ireland and Argentina since caps were first awarded on 27 October 1990, Ireland held out at the death in a titanic final tussle.

Both sides had two men each sin binned on a night Cian Healy won his 133rd cap to join Brian O’Driscoll at the top of the list.

Two early Irish tries

In a much improved opening 40 minute performance from last week, Ireland opened the scoring on four minutes.

Jack Crowley, who had earlier been on the receiving end of a dangerous high tackle from Matias Moroni, which saw the centre sin binned for 10 minutes, opened the Irish try-scoring.

With Argentina down a man, Ireland aimed to exploit the wide space in front of them. A break from the home side was dominated by centre Garry Ringrose cutting through the Argentinian side. Tadhg Beirne received the ball yards from the line, but the Munster player unselfishly passed inside to Mack Hansen. The Connacht man had the easy task of touching down for his 10th international try in 23 test matches. On this occasion, Crowley’s conversion attempt was short and fell under the crossbar. This gave Farrell’s side a 12-0 advantage.

Albornoz opens Argentinian scoring

Ireland were penalised for being offside and this gave the Pumas an opportunity to claim their first score of the test match on 12 minutes. Benetton’s Tomás Albornoz dissected the posts to narrow the margin between the sides to 12-3.

Tadhg Beirne thought he had added to the Irish score minutes later when he stretched to touchdown, despite two Argentinian players tackling him. The referee, Paul Williams of New Zealand, called a try as the on field decision, but on review with the TMO, the ball was knocked on as Beirne attempted to ground the ball.

Bealham gets yellow card

Finlay Bealham was found guilty of a crock roll towards the end of the opening quarter of the game. Paul Williams reviewed the incident on the big screen where the Irish front row was clearly seen committing the foul. The Corinthians man was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.

The penalty which followed was successfully kicked by Albornoz, his second of the night, leaving Ireland in a 12-6 lead.

Crowley kicked a fantastic drop goal from centre field on the stroke of 21 minutes to extend the home side’s advantage to 15-6.

With two Irish players blown for crossing, the visitors were handed another three-point opportunity which Albornoz took with aplomb; the score was Ireland 15 Argentina 9 by this stage, with the clock showing 26 minutes played.

McCarthy claims third Irish try

The men in green soon extended their advantage when Joe McCarthy claimed the side’s third try of the night. Coming from an Irish line out near the Argentinian try line, James Lowe at first looked as though he would be successful. Though he ended up being short of the try-scoring line, McCarthy was in support for the five-point score. Another good kick from Crowley meant the score board read 22-9 in Ireland’s favour at the break.

Half-time:  Ireland 22  Argentina 9

Mallía try for Argentina 

Individual brilliance from Argentinian fullback Juan Cruz Mallía created the space for him to claim his team’s first try of the game, after 45 minutes. The Toulouse player, with a 7s background, broke through an ailing Irish defence and easily took the five-pointer.

A straightforward kick from Tomás Albornoz brought his side to within six points of Ireland, with 46 minutes on the stadium clock.

Joe McCarthy became the second Irish player, and third of the game, to be shown a yellow card. The earlier try scorer was guilty of deliberately going offside according to match referee Williams.

Albornoz kicked his second three-pointer of the second half and brought the Pumas to within three points of Andy Farrell’s team.

Shoulder to head contact from Franciso Gómez Kodela on Caelan Dorris saw the Argentinian spend the final five minutes of the game in the sin bin, the fourth player of the night to spend time in the bin.

Both previously uncapped players Tom Clarkson and Sam Prendergast made their senior international debuts on Friday night, while Cian Healy claimed his 133rd test cap, joining Brian O’Driscoll as Ireland’s most-capped player ever.

Ireland now have 14 wins in games between the sides with Argentina having 6 victories.

Final Score: Ireland 22 Argentina 19

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Robbie Henshaw will make his 75th international appearance this evening and is the only change in the starting line-up from last Friday.

The Leinster duo Thomas Clarkson and Sam Prendergast are the two uncapped players Farrell has chosen on the replacements bench for the game as Ireland hope to get back to winning ways following last their defeat to New Zealand.

Healy in line for cap 133

Cian Healy will win his 133rd Test match cap if coming off the replacements’ bench this evening. His will match the record Test cap haul of former Leinster and Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll.

Ireland’s back three is unchanged from last weekend’s opening Autumn Nations Series test, with Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Mack Hansen again chosen.

Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose will start in midfield tonight, with Jamison Gibson-Park and Jack Crowley again getting the nod as the half-back pairing.

The entire pack remains unchanged, with Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Finlay Bealham in the front row, with Joe McCarthy and James Ryan in support in the second row.

Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, who scored a try against New Zealand, and captain Caelan Doris complete Farrell’s starting team.

Alongside Cian Healy on the replacements’ bench are Rob Herring, uncapped Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Peter O’Mahony, Craig Casey, uncapped Sam Prendergast and Jamie Osborne.

Speaking ahead of the Argentina clash, Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell, said:

“There has been a sharp focus in training this week and the squad are determined to get back to winning ways in front of a vocal home crowd. Friday will be a special night at Aviva Stadium for more reasons than one.”

Tonight’s game, which kicks off at 8.10pm, will be live on Virgin Media One, and there will be radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1.

Ireland Team

15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Robbie Henshaw, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park.

1. Andrew Porter, 2. Rónan Kelleher, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan, 6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris (captain).

Replacements:

16. Rob Herring, 17. Cian Healy, 18. Thomas Clarkson, 19. Ryan Baird, 20. Peter O’Mahony, 21. Craig Casey, 22. Sam Prendergast, 23. Jamie Osborne.

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In a tightly-fought game, the All Blacks were full value for their first Dublin win since 2016, with the number of penalties conceded by Ireland having a bearing on the final score.

Opening Half

The opening half of a physical game saw the sides exchange penalty kicks, with New Zealand successfully kicking three to Ireland’s two.

First blood on the scoreboard went to the home side, however. The All Blacks were penalised for blocking in front of the receiver following an Irish Garryowen. With Ireland well positioned to the centre of the posts, Jack Crowley slotted his first kicking attempt at goal over the bar for a 3-0 lead.

New Zealand were quickly awarded their first shot at the posts when referee Nic Berry penalised Finlay Bealham for failing to roll away. Chiefs’ Damian McKenzie comfortably claimed the three-pointer to level the scores after 10 minutes.

All Blacks turned down opportunities to kick for points

Though New Zealand spent a substantial period of the first 40 minutes in the Irish half of the field, the All Blacks turned down a number of goal-kicking opportunities during that time.

With the sides still tied at 3-3 despite the All Blacks’ domination of possession, Damian McKenzie decided to kick his side’s next opportunity, awarded for an illegal tackle from Ireland. This gave the southern hemisphere team a 6-3 advantage on 29 minutes, as the visitors went into the lead for the first time in the test match.

During the final minutes of the first half, McKenzie brought his scoring to nine points when successful with an easy kick, giving New Zealand a 9-3 lead.

Just when it looked as though the main action of the half was complete, the Hurricanes’ Jordi Barrett was penalised for a high tackle. He was shown a yellow card by referee Nic Berry, following consultation with the TMO.

Munster’s Jack Crowley took the ensuing penalty to reduce the deficit on the conclusion of the half, leaving Ireland trailing the All Blacks 6-9 at the break.

Half-time: Ireland 6  New Zealand 9.

Though the Barrett yellow card was reviewed early in the second half, it was not upgraded to red, meaning the All Blacks’ centre spent 10 minutes in the sin bin, instead of 20 minutes which is now the new law.

Ireland try

With the All Blacks down a man, Ireland went in search of an early second half score. The home side powered towards the New Zealand line, moving from left to right. Josh van der Flier eventually stretched and powered his way over for the opening try of the game.

Jack Crowley kicked from right of the posts near the right side line as the Cork Constitution man gave Andy Farrell’s men a 13-9 advantage, with what was arguably his most difficult kick of the night.

Damian McKenzie was soon back on the scoreboard, as his effort from just inside the Irish half of the field, dissected the posts, leaving the bare minimum between the two teams, Ireland leading 13-12 with 49 minutes showing on the match clock.

All Blacks back in front

Finlay Bealham, who had earlier been replaced, came back on the field following an HIA for his replacement, Tom O’Toole. The prop was soon penalised for driving across in the scrum, rather than driving straight.

McKenzie, whose previous penalty attempt has come off the upright, made no mistake on this occasion, and put his side into a two-point lead, 15-13 with the clock passing the 60 minute mark.

Iain Henderson, one of Ireland’s replacements, was penalised at the breakdown minutes later, giving the visitors an opportunity to increase their second-half lead.

McKenzie added to his tally for the night as he successfully kicked the penalty, pushing his team 18-13 ahead in what had been a tight game until that stage.

New Zealand becoming more dominant

New Zealand became more dominant in the game against an unsteady Ireland. The All Blacks split the Irish side on their way to scoring their only five-pointer of the test match, having gone try-less for 68 minutes.

Moving the Irish team from one side of the pitch to the other, the Caelan Dorris-led side were stretched badly, giving New Zealand full-back Will Jordan of the Crusaders the easy task of running into the corner to touch down.

McKenzie failed on this occasion to add the extra point, leaving his side with a 10-point advantage, 23-13, as the game faced into the final 10 minutes.

New Zealand maintained the gap to the death, however, to claim their 32nd success in clashes between the sides.

For Ireland they failed to extend their current run of 19 successive wins at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland have now won 40 of their last 43 home games at the Aviva Stadium, dating back to 2016.

Final score: Ireland 13  New Zealand 23

Ireland team:

15. Hugo Keenan, 14. Mack Hansen, 13. Garry Ringrose, 12. Bundee Aki, 11. James Lowe, 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Jamison Gibson-Park.
16. Andrew Porter, 2. Ronan Kelleher, 3. Finlay Bealham, 4. Joe McCarthy, 5. James Ryan,
    6. Tadhg Beirne, 7. Josh van der Flier, 8. Caelan Doris (captain).

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