A series of injuries threatened to derail Ireland’s bid for a final GUINNESS Series win, but Keith Earls’ 65th-minute try proved to be the decisive score in a compelling contest with Australia at the Aviva Stadium.
Having lost Sean O’Brien to a leg injury before kick-off, a very positive first half performance from Ireland was negated by the departures of Rob Kearney (head injury assessment), Andrew Trimble (ankle) and Jared Payne (back) to the sidelines.
The loss of that quartet took 201 caps out of the squad, with three of their replacements – Josh van der Flier, Joey Carbery and Kieran Marmion – having just 14 caps between them. In a makeshift back-line. Payne’s withdrawal forced reserve scrum half Marmion to play the entire second half on the wing, with recent debutant Carbery stationed at full-back and Keith Earls joining Garry Ringrose in the centre for the first time.
Despite the injuries, Ireland had dominated enough of the opening 40 minutes to lead 17-7 at half-time, Paddy Jackson landing an excellent penalty from distance and converting tries from his Ulster colleague Iain Henderson (23 minutes) and Ringrose (33).
For a while, it looked like Joe Schmidt’s men were falling into the same trap as last week against New Zealand. They were unable to transfer their stranglehold of possession and territory into early points, failing to profit from a number of lineout opportunities in the Australian 22.
As the Wallabies continued to infringe, particularly at the breakdown, Jackson finally broke the deadlock with an 17th minute penalty. The visitors’ discipline was poor again when flanker Dean Mumm saw yellow for lifting Tadhg Furlong above the horizontal at a ruck.
In the very next minute, Kearney’s influential replacement Simon Zebo dinked a superbly-weighted kick through for Earls to hoover up on the left wing. He evaded the clutches of two defenders and passed to his right for powerhouse flanker Henderson to charge impressively for the line from 15 metres out and make it over despite Will Genia’s last-ditch challenge.
Past the half hour mark, captain Rory Best, setting the standards as ever on the occasion of his 100th cap, kept up Ireland’s set piece dominance along with fellow pack cornerstone Devin Toner. The scrum was going really well and Zebo and Trimble were both causing problems out wide for the Wallabies.
Although another maul opportunity was missed when the barnstorming CJ Stander lost his support a few metres out, the 21-year-old Ringrose showed an O’Driscoll-like opportunism when slipping through for his first international try.
The Leinster youngster collected a loose pass in the Australian 22 and ghosted by two would-be tacklers, opening up a gap that he had no right to find. It was the kind of attacking spark that has many suggesting that Ringrose is destined to make the Ireland number 13 jersey his own.
Jackson added the extras for a 17-point advantage – the same first half lead Ireland held in the sides’ clash in Dublin two years ago – but just like that 2014 match, the Wallabies bit back in timely fashion. On the stroke of half-time, the visitors’ dangerous back-line clicked and greats hands saw winger Dane Haylett-Petty break free to go in under the posts with Bernard Foley converting.
Crucially, Michael Cheika’s charges resumed on the front foot when the second half got underway. As Ireland’s patched-up back-line came under further pressure, especially in the wide channels, Australia’s key men began to wield more influence.
Strong running and a neat necklace of passes set up centre Tevita Kuridrani to go over in the left corner for a try after a previous effort had been chalked off for a forward pass. Foley’s conversion, which cut the gap to 17-14, was cancelled out by a much-needed Jackson penalty after tighthead Furlong had rumbled forward with great intent.
However, the Wallabies continued to create opportunities, targeting Marmion’s wing where they flooded forward in numbers. Israel Folau uncharacteristically blew a definite try when he ignored a two-man overlap and swiftly lost control of possession.
A third Australian try was coming and it duly arrived in the 56th minute, replacement Sefanaia Naivalu taking a great line to avoid a tackle from the covering Carbery and raid in from the right wing. Foley converted and also tagged on a 60th minute penalty, giving his side a 24-20 buffer.
Given the injuries Ireland had suffered and the physical toll of four tough Test weeks, it looked like the game was slipping away from them. Somehow, and with huge credit to the impact of Ultan Dillane, Peter O’Mahony and Cian Healy off the bench, the Ireland forwards seized back control at just the right time.
Man-of-the-match van der Flier and Zebo, who produced an inspiring man-and-ball tackle, were also central figures as the green shirts piled forward again, profiting from ground-gaining carries by a clearly fired-up O’Mahony, Furlong and Stander. They did really well to retain possession from ruck to ruck, patiently building for an opening wide on the left where Zebo’s precise pass sent fellow Munsterman Earls over for his 19th try in Ireland colours.
Hammering home Ireland’s show of character and resilience, out-half Jackson expertly negotiated the difficult conversion from near the touchline, re-establishing the three-point lead that the hosts had held at the end of the first quarter.
Depleted but unbowed, the men in green had a touch of good fortune when Reece Hodge fumbled a Kuridrani pass with the try-line in his sights. Carbery did just enough to put him off and the sell-out Aviva Stadium crowd heaved a collective sigh of relief.
Reset scrums inside the Irish 22 ate into the match clock, the home side armed with possession but needing their forwards to stay strong in the set piece. Healy, Sean Cronin and Finlay Bealham held firm and a subsequent ruck penalty, a very costly concession by the Wallabies, lifted the pressure further.
Ultimately, it was this coolness under pressure and steely determination – typified by an O’Mahony ruck poach – that saw Ireland close out their final victory of a hugely encouraging 2016. After Foley was binned for lifting Toner in the tackle, the home pack hunted for a match-winning penalty off a scrum and got it, handing the frustrated Wallabies their second successive Dublin defeat.
It was an incredible way to wrap up the 2016 GUINNESS Series – and with a number of Ireland’s frontliners not on the pitch. New players are fast emerging and looking right at home in the Test arena. Nine of today’s squad are aged between 21 and 25, with Ringrose and Carbery the youngest of them.
They will take confidence from the fact that they are achieving things that previous Ireland teams have failed to do. Tonight’s result secured a first ever clean sweep of wins over New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – the southern Hemisphere’s ‘big three’ – in the same calendar year.
The targets will be reset as 2017 looms large on the horizon and the carrot of a crack at the RBS 6 Nations title and inclusion on the Lions tour to New Zealand. But, for now, Schmidt can savour a four-match Series full of progression and some history-making results.
It was no surprise that the Ireland head coach gave special mention to the out-of-position Marmion and one of the second half’s big moments when the Connacht man forced David Pocock into an error as Australia were poised to strike.
“I couldn’t have asked for much more. We got a bit of luck at times that looked like the last pass would have undone us and they didn’t quite deliver it, they just lost control of the ball a couple of times,” Schmidt said in his post-match interview.
“A couple of times they were forced errors. Kieran Marmion’s hit on David Pocock to force a forward pass..He just got suddenly hit and that was probably a defensive highlight. There were a whole sort of highlights.
“When Australia hit the lead I thought that was going to be really tough. It was proactive defence that got us back up there. When those big (Australian) carriers started running at our fringes, I thought they held in and did a great job.
“There are things we know we have to get better at. We probably got a bit lucky with Australia probably squandering a few chances they created. We have to be better not to allow those chances to occur.”
Victorious captain Rory Best, reflecting on becoming Irish Rugby’s fifth centurion, added: “The atmosphere was incredible. They’re a great bunch of boys and we had to make a lot of changes, before kick-off and early in the game.
“It’s a very special day for me and I’d like to thank everyone here for that and most importantly to the boys – I can’t take my hat off enough to them and the character they showed. My family, mum and dad, brothers and sisters, (wife) Jodie and the kids – they’ve all been very supportive of me. I’m very grateful to my family and everyone who supports me.”
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