The Ireland rugby team might rate their chances of a win or two on their tour of New Zealand, but TAB NZ is giving them a reminder to consider how tough that’s going to be upon their arrival in Auckland this week.

 

The squad will be greeted with TAB NZ billboards letting both the team and their supporters know it’s been 28 long years since the All Blacks were knocked over at Eden Park.

 

“From when they arrived in New Zealand until the moment they step onto the field, TAB NZ will be there to remind them that their odds aren’t looking good,” TAB NZ General Manager Marketing and Customer Experience Jodi Williams says.

 

“You have to go all the way back to 1994 to find the last time the All Blacks had a loss at the Garden of Eden. That was the same year Forrest Gump hit the big screen, and Friends began its glittering 10-season run on TV.”

 

That’s a fact that’s sure to intimidate any rugby player about to step into the cauldron of a test match of New Zealand. History doesn’t lie either with a test win against the All Blacks in New Zealand still eluding the Irish ever since their first visit in 1976.

 

“We’ll have messages all over the test host cities to make sure our visitors – including their four New Zealand-born players – don’t forget the challenge that awaits,” Jodi Williams says.

 

“You’ll see these ‘helpful’ facts and figures near Ireland’s accommodation, to and from training and the test venues and who knows where else they might appear?”

 

Three test matches and five games in total – that’s a lot of minutes for Ireland to consider the odds of winning.

 

“But based on Ireland’s strong showing in this year’s Six Nations, this should be a great three-test series that will keep fans of both sides on the edge of their seats,” Jodi Williams says.