Ireland to face All Blacks twice next November

The IRFU has officially confirmed that the first of their two clashes with New Zealand next November will take place in Chicago as part of a festival of rugby in the city.

Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears NFL team, will host the game on Saturday, November 5, and the kick-off time of 3pm provides a comfortable 9pm start for supporters back in Ireland.

As a curtain-raiser to the main event the USA will take on the New Zealand Maori on the Friday night at Chicago’s smaller venue, Toyota Park, and, dubbed ‘The Rugby Weekend’, it will also mark the All Blacks’ second visit to the city after they hammered the Americans there in 2014.

The game will mark the first time the countries have met since Ireland’s heart-wrenching defeat in November 2013 when the All Blacks scored with the final play of the game.

Ireland will return home to face Canada on November 12 (5pm), before New Zealand will visit Dublin for a game at Aviva Stadium two weeks later on November 19 (5pm). The Guinness Series will finish up on November 26 when Australia come to town for the third time in four years.

Philip Browne, the IRFU chief executive, is confident the game in Chicago will sell out and that travelling fans and Americans of Irish descent will be eager to provide support for Ireland.

“There is a huge population in the USA who are proud of their Irish heritage as well as large numbers of Irish who have migrated more recently to live and work in the USA,” said Browne.

Tickets are expected to go on sale on April 1, visit www.therugbyweekend.com for more information.