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Ireland rugby tour of New Zealand 2022: When is it, how many fixtures are planned, and how to watch

Ireland rugby tour of New Zealand 2022: When is it, how many fixtures are planned, and how to watch - GETTY IMAGES
Ireland rugby tour of New Zealand 2022: When is it, how many fixtures are planned, and how to watch - GETTY IMAGES

Ireland got their tour of New Zealand underway with a humbling loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park.

Andy Farrell's side started brigthly but could not live with New Zealand's clinical attack while squandering chances of their own.

Captain Johnny Sexton went off injured with a concussion and is a doubt for the second Test, which would make a tough challenge even harder.

How many Tests are there?

It is a three-Test series this month, with fixtures in Auckland, Dunedin and Wellington.

What are the fixtures and results?

First Test, Saturday July 2, Auckland: New Zealand 42 Ireland 19

Second Test, Saturday July 9, Dunedin 08:05am

Third Test, Saturday July 16, Wellington 08:05am

Pita Gus Sowakula of New Zealand celebrate his try during the rugby test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Ireland at Eden Park in Auckland on July 2, 2022. - GETTY IMAGES
Pita Gus Sowakula of New Zealand celebrate his try during the rugby test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Ireland at Eden Park in Auckland on July 2, 2022. - GETTY IMAGES

What TV channel are the games on?

The three Tests will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. Alternatively, you can follow Telegraph Sport's live coverage of all three matches.

Latest news

Andy Farrell is confident Ireland can quickly learn lessons from being dismantled by New Zealand in order to remain alive in the series.

The Irish already face an uphill task to salvage their three-Test tour after slipping to a comprehensive 42-19 defeat in Auckland.

Ian Foster's formidable All Blacks ran in six tries on Saturday, including four in the space of just 18 first-half minutes, to maintain their country's remarkable 28-year unbeaten streak at Eden Park.

Despite falling well short of snapping that run, Farrell insists his squad are far from feeling dejected ahead of next week's crucial clash in Dunedin.

"You don't get many opportunities to break a record; it's an outstanding record and you can see why they hold that," he said.

"We're gutted to lose but, having said that, the players know what they did well and they know how the game flowed and things that we need to fix to stay in a series next week.

"It isn't a dejected changing room; it's one that will dust itself off, learn the lessons and attack next week."

Captain Johnny Sexton must pass further head injury assessments in order to be in contention for the second Test after being taken off in the aftermath of Reece's try, while back-up hooker Dave Heffernan is out due to concussion.

Farrell and his coaching staff now have a full week to get ready for the second instalment of the series, having played a warm-up match against the Maori All Blacks in the build-up to the opener.

Asked if that simplifies preparations, he replied: "Of course it's easier but having it easy, is that what we want? I don't know.

"We're here to test ourselves in all different types of manner and we're here to test ourselves as staff to see how we cope with two matches (in a week) and we're here to see if our players have got excuses or not in regard to backing up and different ways of training.

"Doing it that way makes us stronger as a group, makes our culture stronger, makes our environment stronger and makes us ready for obstacles that are going to get in our way certainly over the next 18 months."