The Ireland fixture was played at Lansdowne Road , Dublin , on 1 December 1888 . Both teams had a number of leading players out injured – the Irish were forced to make four changes to their original selection . Ireland led 3 – 0 at half @-@ time after scoring a converted try , but the Natives improved considerably in the second @-@ half , scoring four tries . Patrick Keogh scored the first two tries , and his play was praised by the local press . The third try scored was by Thomas Ellison after a counter @-@ attack by George Williams . The try was not converted , but the strong finish from the New Zealanders gave the visitors a 13 – 4 victory . The Irish press were surprised by the loss and strongly criticised their team , but Ireland did go on to defeat Wales two tries to nil in the 1889 Home Nations Championship . Following their defeat of Ireland , the Natives played Trinity College and then North of Ireland . The match against Trinity College was drawn 4 – 4 , and despite Keogh not playing , the Native side played much better than their previous fixture . The team then travelled to Belfast , where they defeated North of Ireland 2 – 0 on 5 December ; scoring two tries to nil .