Ireland finish 10th at World Cup after New Zealand defeat

Early goals prove to much Mark Tumilty’s side to surmount in Wavre

Greg Williams in action for Ireland against New Zealand in the World Cup ninth-place playoff on Friday. Photograph: Bart Scheulderman/Inpho

Fri Aug 28 2026 - 16:44 • 1 MIN READ

Ireland achieved their highest World Cup finish despite their campaign coming to an end with a 6-3 defeat to New Zealand on Friday.

The loss left Ireland 10th overall in the tournament, their best result from four World Cup outings.

The game began with a blizzard of New Zealand goals, Ireland finding themselves 4-0 down after just 26 minutes. However, two goals in the space of 60 seconds in the third quarter gave them some hope of a comeback, Greg Williams and Lee Cole’s penalty stroke making it 4-2.

But it ultimately wasn’t to be. New Zealand pushed it out to 6-2 in the final quarter before Jeremy Duncan’s consolation score at the death.

On Thursday, the Ireland women’s team beat South Africa to finish 13th in the women’s World Cup.