Murray Kinsella
Reports from Allianz Stadium, Sydney
DAN SHEEHAN’S WIN record as Ireland captain has been maintained at 100%.
That record only involves two games, but there’s no doubt that lifting the Lansdowne Cup in Sydney on Saturday was a sweet moment.
The Lansdowne Cup itself doesn’t matter hugely, but beating the Wallabies does.
Ireland have done it again. Just about. This was their sixth win in a row against the Australians and on the narrowest margin yet. It was an enthralling Test match and the Wallabies more than played their part.
This fixture has tended to be a tight affair, apart from last November’s 46-19 blowout in Dublin. That aside, the maximum winning margin for Ireland during their run of six wins over the Aussies has been five points.
This one proved more dramatic than any before, with the two teams serving up a spectacle to the nearly 42,000 people packed into Allianz Stadium in Sydney. And there was late, late drama.
All of which Sheehan had to watch from the sideline, having been replaced by Rónan Kelleher, yet he didn’t fear the game would slip away from his team in the closing stages.
“No, I think we were playing in the right areas of the field, so the way rugby is these days, it’s hard to get out of there,” said Sheehan.
“We just needed to make sure we were doing our best to keep pounding the rock, I suppose. And eventually we got over, but it did take a few times.
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“We need to be a bit more clinical, I think. A big focus for us in the last week was our conversion rate in the 22, which was a bit sloppy. I don’t know the stats or anything on it, but, you know, we probably should have come up with a bit more there and quicker when we did.
“So, no, I had full faith in the lads that they had good composure. I thought the bench brought great energy when they came on. And we needed it because that first half was tough. We probably needed fresh faces to bring on a bit of energy.”
There were important passages in the closing stages of the first half too.
Hugo Keenan’s try-saving tackle denied Joseph Suaalii. Then Ireland conjured a cracking try from just outside their own 22, finished by Jamison Gibson-Park.
Dan Sheehan lifts the Lansdowne Cup. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“It was important that we weren’t aiming for half time and there was no mindset to kick it out and restart in the second half,” said Sheehan.
“I thought it was brilliant that we kept attacking the game in the red. And that was a big try for us to make sure we sort of switched momentum going into the second half.
“Obviously, we had a lot to work on. We weren’t happy with the first half, but it did help that we knew that we could prove it to ourselves that we were able to fix things on the run and sort of get over the line from our own 22.
“So that was promising, and it sort of gave us a bit of belief that when we did our stuff right, the way we envisioned it before the game, we could see it worked, but we just needed to do it on more occasions in the first half.”
So Ireland renewed their winning momentum – this is five in a row if you carry over from the Six Nations – but left themselves with a few areas to sharpen in the coming weeks.
Next up is the clash with Japan in Newcastle, a couple of hours north of Sydney. And then it’s onwards to Auckland and Eden Park for the big show against New Zealand.
Sheehan is already loving this experience of captaining Ireland for a full campaign for the first time.
“I put a bit of pressure on myself this week, obviously, captaining the tour,” he said.
“I enjoy it. I feel like I can perform. I like the pressure. It brings another level out of me. But it is pretty special, especially in front of a lot of Irish fans, friends I haven’t seen in a long time, and cousins and stuff that are down here.
“So yeah, that was special to win. Being in camp is brilliant. It’s the best part of my year – but when you win. If you’re losing games, it’s a tricky place to be.
“So I really enjoyed getting the win there. It kicks us off in the right direction now, going to Newcastle next week. Did Japan beat Italy?”
Sheehan was told by Andy Farrell that they did.
“OK, so another big test next week,” continued Sheehan.
“We’ll look forward to that, and we need to rip into it. Two more big games that we need to prepare for.”
'That was special' - Ireland skipper Sheehan revels in Wallabies win
DAN SHEEHAN’S WIN record as Ireland captain has been maintained at 100%.
That record only involves two games, but there’s no doubt that lifting the Lansdowne Cup in Sydney on Saturday was a sweet moment.
The Lansdowne Cup itself doesn’t matter hugely, but beating the Wallabies does.
Ireland have done it again. Just about. This was their sixth win in a row against the Australians and on the narrowest margin yet. It was an enthralling Test match and the Wallabies more than played their part.
This fixture has tended to be a tight affair, apart from last November’s 46-19 blowout in Dublin. That aside, the maximum winning margin for Ireland during their run of six wins over the Aussies has been five points.
This one proved more dramatic than any before, with the two teams serving up a spectacle to the nearly 42,000 people packed into Allianz Stadium in Sydney. And there was late, late drama.
All of which Sheehan had to watch from the sideline, having been replaced by Rónan Kelleher, yet he didn’t fear the game would slip away from his team in the closing stages.
“No, I think we were playing in the right areas of the field, so the way rugby is these days, it’s hard to get out of there,” said Sheehan.
“We just needed to make sure we were doing our best to keep pounding the rock, I suppose. And eventually we got over, but it did take a few times.
“We need to be a bit more clinical, I think. A big focus for us in the last week was our conversion rate in the 22, which was a bit sloppy. I don’t know the stats or anything on it, but, you know, we probably should have come up with a bit more there and quicker when we did.
“So, no, I had full faith in the lads that they had good composure. I thought the bench brought great energy when they came on. And we needed it because that first half was tough. We probably needed fresh faces to bring on a bit of energy.”
There were important passages in the closing stages of the first half too.
Hugo Keenan’s try-saving tackle denied Joseph Suaalii. Then Ireland conjured a cracking try from just outside their own 22, finished by Jamison Gibson-Park.
“It was important that we weren’t aiming for half time and there was no mindset to kick it out and restart in the second half,” said Sheehan.
“I thought it was brilliant that we kept attacking the game in the red. And that was a big try for us to make sure we sort of switched momentum going into the second half.
“Obviously, we had a lot to work on. We weren’t happy with the first half, but it did help that we knew that we could prove it to ourselves that we were able to fix things on the run and sort of get over the line from our own 22.
“So that was promising, and it sort of gave us a bit of belief that when we did our stuff right, the way we envisioned it before the game, we could see it worked, but we just needed to do it on more occasions in the first half.”
So Ireland renewed their winning momentum – this is five in a row if you carry over from the Six Nations – but left themselves with a few areas to sharpen in the coming weeks.
Next up is the clash with Japan in Newcastle, a couple of hours north of Sydney. And then it’s onwards to Auckland and Eden Park for the big show against New Zealand.
Sheehan is already loving this experience of captaining Ireland for a full campaign for the first time.
“I put a bit of pressure on myself this week, obviously, captaining the tour,” he said.
“I enjoy it. I feel like I can perform. I like the pressure. It brings another level out of me. But it is pretty special, especially in front of a lot of Irish fans, friends I haven’t seen in a long time, and cousins and stuff that are down here.
“So yeah, that was special to win. Being in camp is brilliant. It’s the best part of my year – but when you win. If you’re losing games, it’s a tricky place to be.
“So I really enjoyed getting the win there. It kicks us off in the right direction now, going to Newcastle next week. Did Japan beat Italy?”
Sheehan was told by Andy Farrell that they did.
“OK, so another big test next week,” continued Sheehan.
“We’ll look forward to that, and we need to rip into it. Two more big games that we need to prepare for.”
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Australia Dan Sheehan Ireland Leader Skipper