Dan Sheehan reveals why Eden Park streak is 'not the focus' for Ireland v All Blacks

Andy Farrell's men have arrived in Auckland ahead of the third round of the Nations Championship Southern Series, and the men in green have their sights on completing a clean-sweep of their Summer opponents. Ireland have already picked up hard-fought victories over Australia and Japan, yet the Eden Park caveat adds extra weight to this Saturday's clash against New Zealand.

Despite the magnitude of ending the All Blacks' 52-Test unbeaten streak at the iconic Auckland amphitheater, Ireland captain Dan Sheehan expressed how the record has not been a forefront focus of the pre-match preparations. Speaking at the Ireland press conference in Auckland, Sheehan said;

"It would be a special thing to do, of course, but it's something that we haven't focused on massively. Obviously, it's a great record, but we we're trying to get the best performance out of the group that we've seen this year, and we think we have it in us.

"I think the capabilities of the squad, and if we get them out in the day, it'd be a great test game and hopefully we come out in top. So it's [Eden Park streak] not something we've sort of mentioned through the week, really, but it'd be a great occasion."

Whilst Sheehan and his Ireland teammates have not put the Eden Park streak within this match-week's focal points, the Leinster and Lions hooker was certainly impressed by this Saturday's back-drop. The Ireland squad enjoyed a pitch walk and low intensity training session on the heralded ground ahead of the match, with Sheehan certainly taken aback.

"Oh, it's such an iconic venue in world rugby, and for us to have the opportunity to play here, it doesn't come around very often. I've been lucky enough to play here, but it didn't go our way the last time (42-19 defeat in 2022). I think lads are very excited to play, especially to have the opportunity to play in Eden Park. It's something that you never know if you get another chance."

Sheehan then revealed the driving force behind his Ireland team, with Andy Farrell's squad taking motivation from wearing the green jersey and rallying upon the Irish supporters, rather than considering the importance of the Eden Park streak on the line.

"We're very performance-driven, we don't need a whole lot of motivating factors. We think that the Irish Jersey does it for us, and we're very proud to represent our people at home and and the group that we have here. That's the sort of emotion we've gone after this week, that's probably similar to how we've done it in campaigns past.

"We've focused on making sure that we do the people proud back home, and all the support we'll have tomorrow. That's just the way we've shaped the week, shaped the last sort of campaign, [we] make sure that we're representing the people back home."

With regular Ireland captain Caelan Doris left at home to recover from a foot injury sustained in the URC Grand Final, Sheehan has once again stepped up to the occasion to skipper the side.

Handing an assessment upon Ireland Nations Championship efforts thus far, and the Leinster hooker gave a fair review of the underwhelming elements of the last two weeks, as Ireland scratched and clawed their way past the Wallabies, before a less than convincing win over Japan. With the end of the Southern Series in sight, Sheehan wants to complete the campaign with a bang.

"Obviously, performances probably haven't been where we want them, but it's a brilliant opportunity now to bring it all together for a big game tomorrow. I think everyone's been excited, it's been in the calendar for a while, so it's a great occasion, a great opportunity for us to finish the season off on a high."

"We saw improvements in all the campaigns we've had this year. We probably had a slow start and built nicely through it [2026 Six Nations and Leinster URC season]. So, hopefully we get the best we've seen this year for tomorrow. New Zealand are playing some good rugby, and are flying high, and then in this stadium, so, we need at our best tomorrow."

Sheehan signed off by casting a light upon the Ireland players, that are experiencing the land known as 'Aotearoa' for the first time. Ireland last took on the All Blacks in New Zealand upon their 2022 Summer Tour, which brought around a 2-1 Test Series comeback win, after an initial opening week defeat at Eden Park.

Ireland bounced back for a statement making 23-12 win in Dunedin, which marked Ireland's first ever victory over the All Blacks upon New Zealand soil. Ireland then went on to win the series with a stunning 32-22 victory in Wellington, which took Ireland to the Number One spot in the World Rugby Rankings. Sheehan recalled his fondest memories from that tour, and explained how is excited for the new faces to make some history of their own this weekend.

"That first win in Dunedin, I was only new into the squad that year, and it's incredibly special. Some of the older lads talking about the times they've been to New Zealand before and it hasn't gone their way, and they're an incredible outfit, especially at home. So, any good performance on New Zealand soil is something to remember, so that definitely stands out.

"We'll be looking to recreate that. We have a new group here. A lot of lads haven't weren't on that tour, so we got to sort of make our own history in that way."