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The top two ranked teams in world rugby meet Saturday at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, as No. 2 Ireland hosts No. 1 New Zealand as part of the 2018 Guinness Series.
For those in the United States looking to watch, the match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of the match on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that broadcasts dozens of international rugby matches.
You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Ireland vs New Zealand on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all games–including Ireland vs New Zealand–that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Preview
New Zealand has historically dominated Ireland, owning 28 wins (and one draw) in 30 all-time matchups.
Of course, that’s not really indicative of where the matchup stands today. When these teams met for two meetings in November 2016, Ireland famously got its first-ever win against the All Blacks, a 40-29 triumph at Soldier Field. New Zealand got revenge a couple weeks later with a 21-9 win in front of the Irish crowd in Dublin. Now, world champions New Zealand are ranked No. 1 in the world, while Six Nations champions Ireland are No. 2.
“We have had New Zealand on the radar for a while: you can’t lie and say that it is just another game,” Ireland’s Johnny Sexton said. “They do not come along too often. We have played them three times under Joe and they have all been close games. We want to see where we are in the world and how far we have come since we last played them.”
Ireland will be without Connor Murray, who remains sidelined following the neck injury he sustained in the summer.
“Conor is a world class player but the guys behind him are chasing him,” said Sexton. “They did well against Argentina and I am sure they will go a step this weekend.”
Ireland got a tough test from No. 9 Argentina in the first of three Guinness Series matches last week at Aviva Stadium but ultimately pulled away for the 28-17 win. It was their second win in November after making easy work of Italy, 54-7, at Soldier Field.
As for the All Blacks, their 2018 Vista Northern Tour began with a 69-31 thumping of Japan in Tokyo, followed by a narrow 16-15 win over England in London last week.
Following this match, Ireland will host the United States next Saturday, while New Zealand will head to Rome to take on Italy.