Sititi and Roigard seal New Zealand’s Chicago revenge win over Ireland

Ireland 13-26 New Zealand

All Blacks trail despite early 20-minute red card for Beirne

Tadhg Beirne was shown a contentious early red card as Ireland’s quest to create more special memories in Chicago ended in an emphatic 26-13 loss against New Zealand. Almost nine years to the day since Ireland’s milestone first victory in the fixture, the All Blacks gained revenge at Soldier Field thanks to tries from Ardie Savea, Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi and Cam Roigard.

Ireland initially overcame the controversial third-minute dismissal of Beirne for a high tackle on Beauden Barrett, who landed three conversions, to lead through a Tadhg Furlong score and eight points from Jack Crowley. But the All Blacks underlined their class in the second half to cruise to victory deservedly.

The back-row Savea, who came off the bench in the 2016 loss, said: “That was nine years ago, but it is nice to come here and rectify that. We’ll enjoy tonight and celebrate the win.”