Aussies hold no world cup fears for Ireland
So the 31-year wait for an Irish Test victory on southern hemisphere soil continues. In truth, however disappointing this third tour defeat from three may be, the reality is the side crossing the whitewash twice on Saturday deservedly took the spoils.
Both teams were severely depleted so in a sense it was 'even steven'. No Irish redemption on that count. It was in effect the Emerging Wallabies v Ireland 'A' but with full caps on offer. They come with Rice Krispies packs today anyway. That said, and although their scrum has come on leaps and bounds, the Wallaby squad appears a long way short of the big two -- South Africa and New Zealand -- in terms of strength in depth.
On the plus side for Ireland, there was little hard evidence to suggest that the Wallabies will take top spot in the World Cup pool as a matter of course. They will be favoured, but it is no foregone conclusion. For Declan Kidney, this represented a dogged and fighting end to a difficult tour. They were tired and it showed.
potency
Openings appeared but, perhaps through fatigue, we lacked the potency or cutting edge to finish them off, despite Paddy Wallace again making his mark creatively in midfield. By contrast, when the Aussies got a sniff they scored -- it's all they ever need -- and so the long wait goes on.
Unlike in New Plymouth, this time the opening phase went according to plan. Quickly and efficiently, Jonny Sexton and Ireland established a foothold in the game and a hugely competitive struggle was instantly guaranteed. The early omens were good.
Sexton's kicking, both out of hand and off the ground, was pretty close to perfection. The pressure at the breakdown led to an uncharacteristic Wallaby error-count. Unfortunately, as in New Zealand, individual failings cost Ireland dear and effectively gifted the under-pressure Wallabies a couple of tries they scarcely deserved.
Quade Cooper's score on the break was mesmeric, but in both self-induced wounds, breakdown in the back row, specifically in communication and alignment, represented the undoubted source of the self-imposed pain.
For the first, Chris Henry was off the pace in mind and body for a simple eight-nine delivery off the base of the scrum aimed at setting Tomas O'Leary away on the right. Instead, Luke Burgess intercepted and suddenly the Wallabies were in a game that had taken off without them. Even at the highest level, the first points on the board can have an amazing effect in terms of adrenaline rush for individual and collective confidence.
For the second, effectively the match-determining try, both flankers -- Niall Ronan and Shane Jennings -- were found wanting. It was a defensive lapse, but equally it should not detract one iota from an extraordinary piece of individualism from Cooper, an off-the-cuff element so lacking in the modern game of almost robotic tactics. Cooper's try was the telling moment, and it deserved to be: it was simply classic out-half running play at its best.
From an Irish perspective, his opposite number, Sexton, had another assured outing. He returns as first-choice No 10. He, hooker Sean Cronin and centre Wallace were the three who impressed most. Others like Henry, Ronan, Damien Varley, John Fogarty, Dan Tuohy and Rhys Ruddock will have benefited from the touring experience. The front row -- while still unsettled and under pressure on Saturday minus Paul O'Connell -- has widened in terms of options.
For Jamie Heaslip (my Irish player of the year) it has been a disappointing end to an exceptional season. Provided he learns from the New Plymouth experience then it will not have been in vain. He is an Irish skipper in waiting who was duped to taking the law into his own hands for the first and I expect last time. The sending-off offence was out of character but in those moments of madness he let his team-mates down badly.
It could have led to the ultimate tour from hell but in typical Kidney fashion they re-circled the wagons and went down with even the most tired guns still firing. With it comes a badly needed rest at the end of an extremely long and very difficult season. Few will begrudge them their break.
- Tony Ward
Irish Independent
