IRELAND FINISHED THEIR November series with a 27-24 win over the Wallabies in Dublin.
Read our match report here.
Character from Ireland
Thing looked ominous from the opening moments of the second half. The Wallabies had a 10-point deficit to make up, but it did not look good for Ireland.
Kieran Marmion on the wing, Joey Carbery at fullback, Keith Earls shifted into the midfield. Jared Payne, Andrew Trimble and Rob Kearney all forced off. Sean O’Brien, Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw absent through injury.
And the Wallabies looking in the mood, their width and ruck speed in attack immediately beginning to stretch Ireland. The tries came, and it appeared that Ireland were tiring after their efforts last weekend against the All Blacks.
But Joe Schmidt’s players found resolve.
Simon Zebo made a huge hit in the Australia 22, the likes of Peter O’Mahony brought energy and dominated tacklers on the gainline. Ireland could have gone wide earlier, but when they did, Zebo’s pass to Earls was accurate for the winning try.
Paddy Jackson held his nerve from the touchline to give Ireland a crucial three-point lead that meant Australia couldn’t win with a penalty or drop goal.
Then came the muscular defence from Ireland. It was thrilling and absorbing and nerve-wracking in a noisy Aviva Stadium, but the Irish players showed their character once again to cling on.
November success
Three wins from four in a series where they played the All Blacks twice has to go down as a major success for Ireland.
Schmidt has also added depth to his pool of players by giving nine players their debuts. The likes of Carbery, Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier all now have crucial experience at the very top level of Test rugby.
The two fixtures against the All Blacks were the focus of this month from the outside and the atmosphere coming into this evening’s game was understandably muted. But the Aviva Stadium came to life as the enthralling clash of the Irish and the Wallabies played out.
Ireland remain fourth in the World Rugby rankings after this win over the official third-best team on the planet. They also beat the very best team in the world this month, and put Canada away in an eight-try win.
A job very well done.
Young stars
Van der Flier and Ringrose not only gained valuable experience here, they were quite probably Ireland’s two best players.
The openside flanker has been exceptional throughout this series, enjoying long stints off the bench in the two All Blacks games as injuries cut down Jordi Murphy and CJ Stander.
The 23-year-old saved his best for last, however, thundering into nine carries, leading the tackle count for Ireland with 12 and even adding in two passes. He is a workhorse, certainly, but there are so many promising signs that he can be a complete back row.
Ringrose looks built for this level of rugby too. His try was a delight, all about his alertness, acceleration and angle of running. He rolled the sleeves up once again at inside centre, dancing into 15 carries and making some important defensive hits.
His choke tackle inside the Ireland 22 late on was one of the moments of the game. While Ringrose was not perfect, he is a thrilling prospect for Irish rugby at the age of 21.
A mention too for Tadhg Furlong, who is already looking like a veteran at just 24. The Wexford man was solid at the set-piece and brought his unique mobility to the party. Again, the fact that he will only get better is exciting for Ireland.
Width and skill
While the Wallabies dominated long periods of the second half, Ireland’s huge possession share in the opening 40 minutes allowed them to show off an ambitious game plan.
There was plenty of width as the likes of Payne and Trimble finally got some good ball in hand to show what they are capable of. Forwards like Devin Toner, CJ Stander and Furlong joined in the fun with simple and well-executed passes to allow Ireland to explore the wide channels.
Oftentimes, Ireland’s second-half problems could be linked back to poor kicks that provided the Wallabies with access into the game.
Even before Dane Haylett-Patty’s try late in the first half, Jackson would have been angry with his poor kick straight into touch as Ireland broke from their own 22 through Zebo and Carbery.
There is always variety in Ireland’s game plan from week to week as they pick out areas they feel they can exploit the opposition, but it’s hugely encouraging for Schmidt to see his players look so comfortable in wide-wide patterns.
Best day
Paddy Wallace, a former Ulster and Ireland team-mate of Rory Best’s, summed up this display superbly at the Aviva Stadium when we spoke just after the final whistle.
“That was a Rory Best performance from Ireland.”
Perfectly put.
This display was so fitting as the hooker won his 100th cap.
He appeared to love the challenge as Ireland were decimated by those injuries. He hammered into every contact and contributed to a strong set-piece performance from his team.
Best was given a rousing reception as he ran out with his two young children before the game, then brought the house down when he departed for Sean Cronin late on.
The 34-year-old deserved every tribute that came his way this week.
