I Compared Every All Black and Irish Player, This Stood Out

Dave Rennie's All Blacks and Andy Farrell's Ireland have both named their matchday 23s for Saturday's Nations Championship 2026 clash at Eden Park. So this is a player by player threat analysis of both teams, built entirely from their 2026 club season form. Instead of guessing, every player is plotted on the same performance charts using a full season of club data: the All Blacks from Super Rugby Pacific 2026, Ireland from the URC 2025/26, and Ardie Savea and Anton Lienert-Brown from Japan Rugby League One. It is not a like for like comparison. Club rugby and Test rugby differ, and Super Rugby is faster and looser than the URC grind. But across a whole season it shows what each player reliably brings, and what the two coaches have prioritised. We go position by position (props, hookers, locks, loose forwards, halfback, fly half, midfield and back three) across nine dimensions: Carrier DNA, Breakdown DNA, the Enforcer Map, the Clean Engine (discipline vs work rate), Jackal ROI, Two Way Contact Beast, Creators vs Finishers, Lineout General and the Triple Threat 10. What the data shows: the All Blacks hold an edge in carrying, the breakdown, discipline and the running fly half, and Ireland are level on jackal threat and the two way contact battle. The one area All Blacks fans should watch is the 13 channel. Ireland's midfield (Stuart McCloskey, Bundee Aki, and the in form Jimmy O'Brien) is exactly where New Zealand looks thinnest. There is also an Ireland lineout puzzle: Andy Farrell has left out several of their best jumpers (Cian Prendergast, Cormac Izuchukwu, Darragh Murray), which could matter against an All Blacks pack short on height. Featured players include Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie, Cam Roigard, Ruben Love, Josh Moorby, Jordie Barrett, Ardie Savea, Anton Segner and Xavier Numia for the All Blacks; and Jamison Gibson-Park, Sam Prendergast, Tadhg Beirne, Dan Sheehan, Jack Conan, Hugo Keenan and Bundee Aki for Ireland. This video answers: Who are the biggest threats in All Blacks vs Ireland? How do the All Blacks and Ireland squads compare on club form? What is the All Blacks' weakness at centre, the "13 problem"? Which players did Andy Farrell leave out of the Ireland squad, and why does the lineout selection look strange? Which Ireland players can hurt the All Blacks most? Who will win All Blacks vs Ireland at Eden Park? (On the data, the All Blacks edge it, with a big club vs Test caveat.) Charts are now interactive HTML you can toggle by position. Thanks to viewer Willy McLean for the suggestion. Chapters: 0:00 Intro: a new format (and I've got the flu) 1:16 How to read these charts: club form, not apples to apples 2:21 Carrier DNA: who hurts you with ball in hand 7:00 Centres: the All Blacks' 13 problem 8:54 Back three: where New Zealand has the edge 10:11 Breakdown DNA: the jackal and work rate battle 12:25 Enforcer Map: who hits the hardest 16:52 Clean Engine: discipline vs work rate 23:46 Jackal ROI: turnovers vs penalties 29:05 Two Way Contact Beasts 30:08 Creators vs Finishers 31:20 Lineout General: the All Blacks' height question 33:31 Triple Threat 10: the fly half battle 34:38 Summary: Ireland's strengths and weaknesses 39:15 Final thoughts and my (jinxed) prediction Where do you think this game is won or lost, and Irish fans, tell me why Farrell left those jumpers out? Drop it in the comments. #AllBlacks #Ireland #Rugby #NationsChampionship #AllBlacksvIreland