Ringrose: Ireland Aims to Extend Home Winning Streak

Garry Ringrose has stated that Ireland is committed to sustaining its strong performance at home, as the team pursues a 20th consecutive victory at Aviva Stadium when they face the All Blacks on Friday night. The squad led by Andy Farrell has transformed the Dublin ground into a particularly challenging location for opposing teams in recent years, with their most recent home loss occurring against France during the 2021 Six Nations. Beyond their match with New Zealand, Ireland is also scheduled to host Argentina, Fiji, and Australia as part of the November internationals. Ringrose commented on the significance of their home ground, stating, “It’s becoming more special with every experience we have there. Some of the results, when our backs are against the wall, even thinking back to Australia [in 2016], it was the last Test of that November series. It was Besty [Rory Best]’s 100th cap and there were a few injuries but we came out the other end and win a game like that. It makes us all appreciate what’s coming this weekend. Every result we’ve had there adds to the legacy and we certainly want to keep that going.” Ringrose was a non-playing substitute during Ireland’s landmark victory against the All Blacks in Chicago in 2016, but he has played against them seven times since then. The 29-year-old player is anticipated to be in the starting lineup on Friday, potentially confronting the strong New Zealand centre pairing of Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett, who is set to join Leinster. Regarding the opposing centres, Ringrose remarked, “I was paying attention to them during the Rugby Championship. They’re pretty settled and cohesive together as a partnership. I was watching them at the weekend against a tough England side that were throwing everything at them. Like they always do, they seemed to be taking everything in their stride so we’ll have our work cut out for us on that front.”