CAPTAIN CAELAN DORIS said the Ireland rugby team hope to take inspiration from the Republic of Ireland football side and get the Aviva Stadium rocking again tomorrow night as they face Joe Schmidt’s Australia.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s stunned Portugal with a 2-0 win last night and the atmosphere at the Aviva was up there as the best in recent memory.

Ireland rugby internationals Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Jacob Stockdale, and Ciarán Frawley were at the match along with a number of the Irish management team, while the rest of the set-up watched the win over Portugal from the team hotel.

“We had it up in the team room so lads were coming and going a little bit with massage and rehab and stuff,” said Doris after his team’s captain’s run at the Aviva today. “There was good excitement watching it. It was class.

“The atmosphere here was unbelievable and we’ll be looking for something similar tomorrow. I think it comes when there’s passion in how they’re playing. You could see there was no fear in how they played, they just kept attacking and were quite cohesive in that.

“There was a nice reaction when Ronaldo got sent off as well. It was class and very cool to watch.”

Doris said the Irish performance was definitely inspiring.

“The biggest thing is through how they play, the knock-on reaction they can have with the supporters and the passion you see. So, it’s a late kick off for us tomorrow night [8.10pm] and hopefully we can get them going.”

Bundee Aki at Ireland's session today. Nick Elliott / INPHO Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO

The IRFU’s training base is next door to the FAI’s at the Sport Ireland campus in Abbotstown, but Doris said they have had very little interaction with their football counterparts, despite many of the rugby team being big fans. 

The atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium for Ireland’s rugby internationals has become a big talking point in recent years, with the IRFU undertaking a survey and making changes to the matchday experience in a bid to improve it.

But Doris points out that what really matters is what he and his team-mates do on the pitch. He has some great memories of playing at the Aviva.

“Playing Australia last year in the 150 was a pretty good one,” he said. “It wasn’t the best performance from us, but in terms of atmosphere and in terms of uniqueness, that was up there.

“What always comes to mind is New Zealand in 2021. Post-COVID, there was a lot of excitement about having fans back and fans coming back to games, so atmosphere-wise that was class.

“France 2023 here at home in the Six Nations was up there as well. The World Cup games [in France], different gravy altogether, but again, the common denominator across those games is how we’ve played, and that’s what we want to show – proper desire, proper chasing the game down and attacking it.”

The weather in Dublin is miserable today but Ireland came through their captain’s run at the Aviva unscathed.

While they still hope the rain and wind will clear off in time for kick-off tomorrow evening, Andy Farrell’s men have been adjusting for the possible conditions.

Andrew Porter and Robbie Henshaw before Ireland's team photo. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO

“It might have to be a little bit more direct,” said Doris. “Set-piece, territory, discipline, all become a little bit more important.

“Scoreboard pressure, taking points early, that kind of thing is more important, but also, just the intensity and the enjoyment of getting properly stuck in as a forward pack in particular.

“I mean the way Australia play, they have the ability through their backs to swing together and take opportunities, but also they play similar to France, that tight game with their forwards pop passing from the breakdown.

“So, regardless of the weather, that’s going to be a big focus point for our defence that we need to get right.”

- This article was updated at 2.08pm to correct a typo in the 18th paragraph.