Ireland Score Six And Record Winning Margin Against Wallabies

Ireland made a fast start, striking early through fullback Mack Hansen—making his first appearance in the No. 15 shirt—who finished a flowing move of quick offloads beneath the posts. Sam Prendergast added the straightforward conversion. Hansen crossed again soon after, this time benefiting from sharp interplay between Robbie Henshaw and Prendergast to claim his second try.

Australia pushed back with a period of sustained pressure, but repeated lineout errors halted their momentum. When they finally secured clean ball, centre Len Ikitau burst through to score under penalty advantage, with James O’Connor converting to reduce Ireland’s lead to 14–7.

Hansen completed his hat-trick on the half-hour mark, reacting quickest to a loose ball after Prendergast’s crossfield kick created havoc in the Australian defence. The missed conversion left Ireland 19–7 ahead. However, lapses in discipline allowed Australia back into the contest, and flanker Fraser McReight forced his way over just before the break. O’Connor’s conversion closed the gap to five at half-time.

After the interval, Ireland transformed a tight encounter into a dominant victory, scoring three second-half tries on the way to a 46–19 success at the Aviva Stadium.

Holding a narrow five-point advantage, Ireland stretched their lead when Prendergast slotted a well-taken drop goal in the 56th minute. Replacement Jack Crowley followed up with a penalty, punishing Australia’s ongoing struggles at the lineout as they failed to turn pressure into points.

Ireland’s decisive surge arrived in the final quarter. Captain Caelan Doris crashed over from close range after sustained phase play, with Crowley adding the extras for a 32–14 lead. Australia briefly rallied when replacement Josh Pollard touched down in the corner, though Tane Edmed was unable to convert.

Ryan Baird powered over for Ireland’s fifth try. Robbie Henshaw then rounded off the evening, finishing superbly from Jamison Gibson-Park’s inch-perfect crossfield kick. Crowley converted both scores to complete a commanding performance.

Next up for Ireland is the final game of the series against World Champions South Africa.