Garry Ringrose says Ireland are determined to maintain their impressive home form as they target a 20th straight Aviva Stadium win against the All Blacks on Friday night.
Andy Farrell’s side have made the Dublin venue one of the most daunting arenas for visiting teams in recent years, their last home defeat coming against France in the 2021 Six Nations.
In addition to New Zealand, Ireland host Argentina, Fiji and Australia during the November internationals.
“It’s becoming more special with every experience we have there,” said Ringrose.
“Some of the results, when our backs are against the wall, even thinking back to Australia [in 2016], it was the last Test of that November series.
“It was Besty [Rory Best]’s 100th cap and there were a few injuries but we came out the other end and win a game like that.
“It makes us all appreciate what’s coming this weekend. Every result we’ve had there adds to the legacy and we certainly want to keep that going.”
Ringrose was an unused replacement during Ireland’s historic win over the All Blacks in Chicago in 2016 but has faced them on seven occasions since.
The 29-year-old is expected to start on Friday, where he may come up against the formidable New Zealand centre partnership of Rieko Ioane and Leinster-bound Jordie Barrett.
“I was paying attention to them during the Rugby Championship. They’re pretty settled and cohesive together as a partnership,” said Ringrose.
“I was watching them at the weekend against a tough England side that were throwing everything at them. Like they always do, they seemed to be taking everything in their stride so we’ll have our work cut out for us on that front.”