New Zealand rallies with three late tries to beat Ireland 26-13 at Soldier Field

CHICAGO (AP) — Tries in the last quarter by Tamaiti Williams, Wallace Sititi and Cam Roigard carried New Zealand to a 26-13 win Saturday over a combative Ireland in front of 65,000 mostly Irish fans at Chicago's Soldier Field.

New Zealand struggled for much of the match against Ireland's physical rush defense and disruptive play at set pieces and Ireland headed into the final quarter with a 13-7 lead.

The All Blacks opened up the Ireland defense twice in five minutes, in the 61st and 66th minutes, first with a try to Williams from a tapped penalty, then through Sititi after a deft combination between playmakers Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie.

Roigard then dashed through a gap from a dominant scrum to cap the win in the 76th minute.

The loss was a blow to Ireland who hoped to repeat their first win over New Zealand achieved at Soldier Field almost nine years ago to the day.

“It's a bitter pill to swallow,” Ireland captain Dan Sheehan said. "I don't think we ever really got going. We saw very small patches of what we were looking for but couldn't really put the whole picture together.”

Ireland looked on course to win until the All Blacks, who had been diffident and disorganized in the first 60 minutes, finally found a way to unleash their attack. New Zealand's win means their hope of a first Grand Slam of wins over the Home Unions since 2005 remains alive.

New Zealand will play Scotland, England and Wales over the next three weekends.

“That loss was nine years ago so it's nice to come here and rectify that,” All Blacks captain Ardie Savea said.

Both teams were disrupted in the first half. New Zealand lost captain Scott Barrett to a leg injury after only three minutes and Ireland lost lock Tadhg Beirne to a yellow card after accidental head contact with Beauden Barrett. New Zealand also lost midfielder Jordie Barrett to a first-half injury.

Ireland took an early 10-0 lead after a penalty by Jack Crowley and try by prop Tadhg Furlong. New Zealand replied with a try by Savea and trailed 10-7 at halftime.

The first half had drama but lacked flow with regular stoppages.

Beirne's yellow card came in the 10th minute when his shoulder made contact with Barrett's head in an awkward standing tackle. Ireland argued that the pass to Barrett was forward and that Beirne had not been able to adjust his upright position.

Jordie Barrett suffered a knee injury in the 12th minute, tried to play on but was replaced soon after by Leicester Fainga'anuku.

The All Blacks made little impact on Ireland's rigid defense at first and had more success going around the edges. New Zealand's defense was more yielding and Ireland made gains, notably with strong running from veteran midfield Stuart McCloskey.

Ireland took the lead in the seventh minute with a penalty by Crowley, then added the first try in the 17th minute through Furlong.

New Zealand replied almost immediately with a try by Savea. Fainga'anuku stepped out of Gary Ringrose's tackle wide on the left hand side and offloaded to Will Jordan. From the ruck forwards Ethan de Groot, Josh Lord and Simon Parker combined to put Savea over in the right corner.

Crowley opened the second half scoring with a penalty in the 51st minute, making the led 13-10. At that point eight of the previous 10 penalties had gone against New Zealand for offending mostly at breakdowns.

New Zealand seized the lead against the run of play with a try by Williams from a quick tapped penalty in the 61st minute.

Sititi scored five minutes later when Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie combined to create space for the big backrower to cross Ireland's line untouched by the defense.

Roigard capped the win with a try from an increasingly dominant scrum.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

New Zealand's Caleb Clarke, left, and Ireland's Jamie Osborne compete for the ball during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

A Irish supporter reacts during the halftime break in the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Ireland's James Lowe and New Zealand's Beauden Barrett compete for the ball during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Ireland's Jack Crowley kicks a penalty goal during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand's Wallace Sititi is tackled by Ireland's Andrew Porter during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Ireland's Garry Ringrose tackles New Zealand's Beauden Barrett during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand's Fabien Holland is tackled by Ireland's Ryan Baird, bottom, and Finlay Bealham, left, during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand's Cody Taylor leads the haka ahead of the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Supporters react ahead of the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand's Quinn Tupaea, right, tackles Ireland's Ryan Baird during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Ireland's Jack Crowley kicks a penalty goal during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand's Leicester Fainga'anuku, centre, celebrates with teammate Peter Lakai, left, after their team's first try during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Ireland players react after scoring their first try during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand's Beauden Barrett runs with the ball during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Ireland's Ryan Baird wins a lineout during the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson reacts ahead of the rugby international between the All Blacks and Ireland in Chicago, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — If the world of high fashion has Fashion Week in Milan, with sleek models dressed in avant-garde looks strutting down the runways, then the golf world has the Masters, where players bound down verdant green fairways in azalea-inspired polos, exotic bird prints, the yellows of jasmine and the pinks of the dogwoods.

Over the last few years, golf apparel companies have begun treating the first full week of April as their moment to shine, unveiling lineups of Masters-inspired drops they hope can capture the attention of those focused on the season's first major.

The surf-style company Johnnie-O, for example, dips into the Deep South with its classic, understated Azalea Collection. Rhobak likewise offers an Azalea Collection, though with bold flower patterns designed to invoke the feel of being on the grounds of Augusta National. Malbon Golf, meanwhile, offers a “Birds of Georgia” set featuring images of those typically found about the course.

Yet none of them carry the iconic Masters logo. Or reference Amen Corner. Or use the words “Green Jacket.”

All of those are trademarked by the club — three of nearly 100 trademarks on file — and force outside apparel companies to creatively build their connections to both the tournament and Augusta National without infringing on their intellectual property.

“Makers of products for mass market dream of becoming a supplier to Walmart. Likewise, high-end brands salivate at the idea of winning a mandate from the Masters,” said John Sabino, author of “The Augusta Principles: Timeless Business Lessons from the World’s Premier Golf Club.” "Apparel companies want to tap into the Masters' high-quality association and leverage the club's exalted brand."

Yet tapping into that association is harder than it sounds

The Masters has its own retail operations that generate about $70 million in revenue this week alone, and nearly all of its products can only be purchased on site. It's not uncommon for patrons to drop thousands of dollars in a single visit to the main golf shop just off the first fairway, and then come back for more, eventually emerging with souvenir bags stuffed to the brim.

“I honestly think the Augusta pro shop is one of the best pro shops in golf,” Masters participant Tommy Fleetwood said.

But unlike the U.S. Open or PGA Championship, where familiar sporting brands like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour have their logoed apparel available, the gear from the Masters is primarily in-house products — no “Swooshes” here.

“Augusta National excels at using scarcity to create value,” Sabino said. “The only way to buy Masters-branded merchandise is at the Masters. Other sports and events allow people to buy online. Even Wimbledon. Augusta National is unique in this regard, so it creates a great demand for golf lovers who can’t attend the tournament.”

That's where companies like Johnnie-O saw an opportunity to fill a void with lines that are merely inspired by the Masters.

“Last year we had just a few pieces for the first major of the year,” said Dave Neville, the company's senior vice president of marketing, “and there was so much demand that we felt like we needed a full collection.”

Since launching its Azalea Collection, Johnnie-O's e-commerce sales are up 30%, and such “moment-driven merchandise” is one of the reasons the company is aggressively expanding from 14 retail locations to 30 over the next 18 months.

“With new golfers wearing Johnnie-O on (the PGA) Tour this year," Neville said, “we put additional emphasis on these moments.”

Malbon has turned heads at Augusta National the last few years with out-there looks for Masters participant Jason Day.

This year, the “Birds of Georgia” look includes both shirt and pants, each splashed with images of scarlet tanagers, eastern bluebirds and redheaded woodpeckers. But the combo turned out to be a bit too loud, Day explained after a practice round early in the week, so the club asked him to tone things down by wearing some khaki pants instead.

“I saw a couple people out there wearing the shirt and the full kit and kaboodle,” he said, “which is a little aggressive, but I like it.”

In other words, Malbon's marketing through the Masters has paid off.

TravisMathew is looking for the same kind of payoff with looks inspired by Masters participant Akshay Bhatia's “ favorite time of year. ” Callaway has a “Patrons Welcome” collection that includes one polo covered in a cascade of pimento cheese sandwiches. Ghost Golf offers a similarly coined “Patrons Only Collection" of classic, dark-green clothing and accessories. Puma Golf has its “30904 Collection,” named for the ZIP code of Augusta National, which leans heavily into peaches and greens.

“No ticket? No problem," Puma's site says. "The 30904 Collection was made to bring the Georgia state of mind to your watch party.”

By outfitting you just like you were on the grounds at Augusta National.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Jason Day, of Australia, hits from the fairway on the second hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A patron walks on the 17th hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A patron watches during the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Patrons arrive for the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)