AFTER THE SLEEPILY early start last time out, Andy Farrell and his Ireland team are happy to be back to an evening kick-off for tonight’s clash with Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies [KO 8.10pm, RTÉ/TNT].
Ireland’s message has been that they mean business after unsatisfactory performances against New Zealand and Japan so far in this campaign, and they’re hoping the late start will ensure a rousing atmosphere.
It may be hard to match the noise of Thursday night when the Republic of Ireland shocked Portugal at the Aviva Stadium, but Farrell’s men are determined to give their fans plenty of cause to roar.
With carb loading protocols and nap schedules having been adjusted in the last couple of days, Ireland believe they’re ready to give a performance that quietens some of the pessimistic chat about their trajectory.
Although they’re hoping the miserable rain will have cleared by tonight, Ireland are anticipating plenty of trench warfare against a wounded Wallabies team who were beaten by Italy last weekend. Amid much discussion of how they’re running on fumes at the end of a long season, Schmidt’s men are also out to prove their doubters wrong.
First and foremost, Farrell and Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell have laid down a challenge to the Irish pack to nail their set-piece work at the scrum and lineout. The early set-piece contests will surely never have been watched as closely as they will be tonight. Ireland simply must nail those first few lineouts.
The breakdown will be another pivotal battleground, with Australian openside Fraser McReight among the best jackals in the game. He is opposite Caelan Doris tonight, the Ireland captain having moved from number eight in Josh van der Flier’s absence.
“He’s been world-class over the last couple of years,” said Doris of McReight. “One of the best sevens in the world these days, definitely. I think he was top poacher in the Rugby Championship and contests a ton of balls.”
On the other side, Doris will lead Ireland’s bid to cause chaos at the breakdown.
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Fraser McReight in Dublin this week. Gavin Cullen / INPHO
Gavin Cullen / INPHO / INPHO
With Sam Prendergast back at 10 for Farrell’s side and the highly experienced playmaker James O’Connor coming back in for the Wallabies – he was on holiday in Morocco last week – there’s no doubt that kicking will be crucial too.
Ireland have been close to getting big aerial success in both games so far but haven’t quite managed to win the contests in the air or the scraps on the ground often enough.
“We’ve done quite a lot of live aerial contests in training and seen growth there,” said Doris.
“Hopefully, that can be replicated on the pitch tomorrow. There’s good plans around not only winning the ball in the air, but what develops off that in terms of scraps and unstructured play off the back of it.”
That’s the thing with Ireland so far this autumn – their self-stated strong form on the training ground hasn’t been matched by strong performances on game day. Farrell has stressed that this has to change tonight.
He’s hoping for an influx of energy from a few fresh faces, including Mack Hansen, who gets his first Test start at fullback. He has only played one game in four months, so expectations must be tempered, but he has the kind of cutting edge that Ireland have been lacking.
Among the other nine changes to the starting XV, Stuart McCloskey comes back in and will be looking to pick up where he left off in Chicago, when he was possibly Ireland’s best player against New Zealand.
Farrell is also looking for what Doris calls the “youthful exuberance” of 22-year-old loosehead prop Paddy McCarthy as he hands him his first Test start, having used the Leinster man off the bench for the past two weekends.
“He has been class,” said Doris. “I thought his stint last weekend in particular was very good. Talking about the football team last night, the no fearlessness, he epitomises that as well.
Ireland defence coach Simon Easterby with Paddy McCarthy. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
“He plays what’s in front of him. He loves rugby. Joe [his brother] as well, they’re just massive, massive rugby fans. He loves being in the position he is in and looking forward to seeing him do his thing.”
As well as bringing O’Connor in at out-half after Carter Gordon was ruled out with a quad injury, the Wallabies have welcomed back influential inside centre Len Ikitau, who teams up with the explosive Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii in a powerful midfield combination.
Max Jorgensen, who shifts from wing to fullback, is another man who can make things happen in the Aussie backline, so they’ll be hoping that a pack missing of the bulk and bellicosity of Will Skelton can give them a platform.
Schmidt will undoubtedly have clever plans to scratch at potential Irish weaknesses and he will be priming his defence not to give Prendergast the kind of disjointed defensive pictures that he admires so much.
But on a dirty Dublin weekend, it feels like this one will be decided in a much more brutal, belligerent way. Schmidt knows the likes of Ulster-bound Angus Bell and the big-bopping back row Rob Valetini need to get an edge against an Irish pack that is out to prove a point.
Tests between Ireland and Australia have been close-fought things for the past 20 years, yet Farrell’s men seemingly have more cause to make a statement on home soil this time around.
Ireland have done their fair share of talking in the last couple of weeks. Now it’s time to speak with their actions.
IRELAND: Mack Hansen; Tommy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Paddy McCarthy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Caelan Doris (captain), Jack Conan.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Bundee Aki.
AUSTRALIA: Max Jorgensen; Filipo Daugunu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; James O’Connor, Jake Gordon; Angus Bell, Matt Faessler, Allan Alaalatoa; Jeremy Williams, Tom Hooper; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (captain).
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Tom Robertson, Zane Nonggorr, Nick Frost, Carlo Tizzano, Ryan Lonergan, Tane Edmed, Andrew Kellaway.
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Time for Ireland to speak with actions against wounded Wallabies
AFTER THE SLEEPILY early start last time out, Andy Farrell and his Ireland team are happy to be back to an evening kick-off for tonight’s clash with Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies [KO 8.10pm, RTÉ/TNT].
Ireland’s message has been that they mean business after unsatisfactory performances against New Zealand and Japan so far in this campaign, and they’re hoping the late start will ensure a rousing atmosphere.
It may be hard to match the noise of Thursday night when the Republic of Ireland shocked Portugal at the Aviva Stadium, but Farrell’s men are determined to give their fans plenty of cause to roar.
With carb loading protocols and nap schedules having been adjusted in the last couple of days, Ireland believe they’re ready to give a performance that quietens some of the pessimistic chat about their trajectory.
Although they’re hoping the miserable rain will have cleared by tonight, Ireland are anticipating plenty of trench warfare against a wounded Wallabies team who were beaten by Italy last weekend. Amid much discussion of how they’re running on fumes at the end of a long season, Schmidt’s men are also out to prove their doubters wrong.
First and foremost, Farrell and Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell have laid down a challenge to the Irish pack to nail their set-piece work at the scrum and lineout. The early set-piece contests will surely never have been watched as closely as they will be tonight. Ireland simply must nail those first few lineouts.
The breakdown will be another pivotal battleground, with Australian openside Fraser McReight among the best jackals in the game. He is opposite Caelan Doris tonight, the Ireland captain having moved from number eight in Josh van der Flier’s absence.
“He’s been world-class over the last couple of years,” said Doris of McReight. “One of the best sevens in the world these days, definitely. I think he was top poacher in the Rugby Championship and contests a ton of balls.”
On the other side, Doris will lead Ireland’s bid to cause chaos at the breakdown.
With Sam Prendergast back at 10 for Farrell’s side and the highly experienced playmaker James O’Connor coming back in for the Wallabies – he was on holiday in Morocco last week – there’s no doubt that kicking will be crucial too.
Ireland have been close to getting big aerial success in both games so far but haven’t quite managed to win the contests in the air or the scraps on the ground often enough.
“We’ve done quite a lot of live aerial contests in training and seen growth there,” said Doris.
“Hopefully, that can be replicated on the pitch tomorrow. There’s good plans around not only winning the ball in the air, but what develops off that in terms of scraps and unstructured play off the back of it.”
That’s the thing with Ireland so far this autumn – their self-stated strong form on the training ground hasn’t been matched by strong performances on game day. Farrell has stressed that this has to change tonight.
He’s hoping for an influx of energy from a few fresh faces, including Mack Hansen, who gets his first Test start at fullback. He has only played one game in four months, so expectations must be tempered, but he has the kind of cutting edge that Ireland have been lacking.
Among the other nine changes to the starting XV, Stuart McCloskey comes back in and will be looking to pick up where he left off in Chicago, when he was possibly Ireland’s best player against New Zealand.
Farrell is also looking for what Doris calls the “youthful exuberance” of 22-year-old loosehead prop Paddy McCarthy as he hands him his first Test start, having used the Leinster man off the bench for the past two weekends.
“He has been class,” said Doris. “I thought his stint last weekend in particular was very good. Talking about the football team last night, the no fearlessness, he epitomises that as well.
“He plays what’s in front of him. He loves rugby. Joe [his brother] as well, they’re just massive, massive rugby fans. He loves being in the position he is in and looking forward to seeing him do his thing.”
As well as bringing O’Connor in at out-half after Carter Gordon was ruled out with a quad injury, the Wallabies have welcomed back influential inside centre Len Ikitau, who teams up with the explosive Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii in a powerful midfield combination.
Max Jorgensen, who shifts from wing to fullback, is another man who can make things happen in the Aussie backline, so they’ll be hoping that a pack missing of the bulk and bellicosity of Will Skelton can give them a platform.
Schmidt will undoubtedly have clever plans to scratch at potential Irish weaknesses and he will be priming his defence not to give Prendergast the kind of disjointed defensive pictures that he admires so much.
But on a dirty Dublin weekend, it feels like this one will be decided in a much more brutal, belligerent way. Schmidt knows the likes of Ulster-bound Angus Bell and the big-bopping back row Rob Valetini need to get an edge against an Irish pack that is out to prove a point.
Tests between Ireland and Australia have been close-fought things for the past 20 years, yet Farrell’s men seemingly have more cause to make a statement on home soil this time around.
Ireland have done their fair share of talking in the last couple of weeks. Now it’s time to speak with their actions.
IRELAND: Mack Hansen; Tommy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Paddy McCarthy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Ryan Baird, Caelan Doris (captain), Jack Conan.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Bundee Aki.
AUSTRALIA: Max Jorgensen; Filipo Daugunu, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; James O’Connor, Jake Gordon; Angus Bell, Matt Faessler, Allan Alaalatoa; Jeremy Williams, Tom Hooper; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (captain).
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Tom Robertson, Zane Nonggorr, Nick Frost, Carlo Tizzano, Ryan Lonergan, Tane Edmed, Andrew Kellaway.
Referee: Karl Dickson [RFU].
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