The Wallabies’ hopes of claiming a historic Grand Slam during their Spring Tour of Europe are officially dashed, after the Australians lost 24-27 to Ireland in the early hours of Sunday morning (AEDT).
A slow start proved simply too much for the Wallabies to recover from, as Ireland dominated the game in the first half and starved their Australian opponents of the ball.
All the wash-up from Ireland vs Wallabies:
» LORD: Grand Slam gone, Mumm must follow
» Five talking points from the match
» What changes should Australia make for England
» Vote on our DIY player ratings
» Re-live the match with our live blog
» WATCH all the highlights from the match
The Irish opened the scoring with Paddy Jackson kicking a penalty goal in the 17th minute, before they put on two converted tries through Iain Henderson and Garry Ringrose to rush out to a 17-0 advantage.
That left the Wallabies in dire straits very early, but they were able to give themselves a sniff of hope before the halfway mark when Dane Haylett-Petty recorded a try in the 39th minute, duly converted by Bernard Foley.
Tevita Kuridrani added another try for the visitors just five minutes into the second stanza, and another successful conversion saw the Wallabies back within striking distance at 14-17.
A second penalty goal put the Irish six points in the lead, but then a try from Sefania Naivalu, again converted by Foley, gave Australia a slender 1-point advantage, their first lead of the match, in the 57th minute.
Foley added a penalty goal to put the Wallabies out to four points in front a few minutes later, and for a while it seemed like the visitors would hold out for a win and go into next week’s match against England undefeated on their Spring Tour.
However the Irish jumped back in front in the 65th minute with a try from Keith Earls, and Paddy Jackson’s conversion gave Ireland a three-point advantage that they would hold onto for the remainder of the Test.
Their dominance in the first half made the victory a deserved reward, and they arguably should have been further ahead than their ten-point lead at the main break.
The Wallabies had just 28 per cent possession in the first half and also missed Dean Mumm – controversially included in the side over Lopeti Timani – for ten minutes after he was sent to the sin bin.
Australia were left fuming after Ireland’s second try when the referees gave no heed to possible obstructions, but Ireland’s strong form in the first half and ability to retake the lead late were undeniably the actions of a winning side.
Rhys Bosley
Guest
He was considered a bit selfish when he started out taylorman, even a couple of his teammates made joking references to his unwillingness to pass and he bombed a try against Wales in the 2013 tour for that reason. Not this time though.
taylorman
Roar Guru
That's what I thought on the first take, and haven't watched it again since. It appeared he hadn't got his hands clear so probably gets the benefit of the doubt. Can't see how Folau could ever be deemed selfish. He comes across as one if the least likeliest people I can think of that would fit that description, even in a playing sense.
Boz the Younger
Guest
Having watched the replay I have to admit that I am probably wrong about Izzy's stuff up, he appeared to straighten to draw the cover defenders to make it easier for the defence and then mucked up the offload. Just a stuff up, not selfish. Irish commentator raving on about it being "criminal" influenced me, my mistake. Mumm is still useless though.
Dianne F Stemp
Guest
HANSON DOESNT GO ON LIKE CHEICKA TAKE IT HIGHER ETC FOR EXAMPLE HANSON ONLY MENTIONED HIGH PENALTY COUNT NOT TAKING IT FURTHER,.... HOW DARE U COMPARE HANSON AS CHEICKA ,HE DOESENT CARRY ON LIKE CHEICKA
John
Guest
Lol Boz you're dribbling again. Folau set up two tries through unselfish play and played a distribution role at 12 in large parts (as well as 15) to help his team. Tell us more about his bignoting and "values" though.
Drico
Guest
Indeed I often find the team that scores more points deserves to win. 13-3 penalties, 2-0 yellow cards, enough said.
Drico
Guest
Ireland played without Sexton, O Brien and Heshaw against the Aussies. Then played without Kearney, Thimble and Payne in the 2nd half. Ireland at full strength will be a match for anybody. Bring on the 6Ns.
Martin
Guest
What planet have you been on? Ireland have improved considerably since the World Cup as evidenced by the two games against New Zealand
soapit
Roar Guru
nah only went their way in the second half in a couple of late ones. oz got some pretty good calls in the first and could have been penalised a lot more at the ruck throughout and probably should have had a ellow or a talking to for repeated infringing. in the first half hour.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Guest
Yes, Cheika's interview was ok. However he hinted at the idea of 'reffing complaint' And that might be enough for the likes of Spiro to have a shot at him. Not that Cheika is faultless. Many including myself would like to grill him with a big 'Please explain'. But ref blaming is not the biggest mistake Cheika has made in the last few days.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yes I saw that, thought it was quite neat??
Kane
Guest
@Cathal My comment was cut and pasted from Alex Woods last article with Ireland changed to the Wallabies and All Blacks to Ireland.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yep, they say in snooker you cant do anything when you never get a chance to win the frame, but if you get one chance, just the one, and don't take it, you can't blame anything or anyone else if you lose. Oz had several chances to win this. Asking for an audience with the Referees body is just a way of deflecting where the responsibility lies. Cheika has a history of this...seeking an audience with referees. He needs to learn what impact doing this has on the bigger picture, the team going forward. It will come across as bleating NO MATTER WHAT the outcome. He needs to roll with the punches. When others lose to his sides he says in rugby you have to take the good with the bad...well...
JimmyB
Guest
You seem a little confused.
JimmyB
Guest
Honestly, what gave you that expectation in the first place?
Boz the Younger
Guest
The journalists really like to try and provoke a reaction don't they.
Fin
Guest
In the 69th minute the Irish no. 7 entered the breakdown and lifted McMahon (who was scavenging for the ball) between his legs and in the air and dropped him. It was on the sideline right in front of the assistant referee and no action was taken. No penalty, no yellow card. Nothing. It's no wonder coaches and players get frustrated about consistency of officiating.
Boz the Younger
Guest
I don't think Mumm's second penalty was soft, he tackled him around the head and I immidiately thought penalty when I saw it. Two tries directly resulted from that and the yellow card, it was unforgivable. And Izzy's failure to pass with an overlap outside him was even more so, because it was utterly selfish. For a guy who bignotes himself as the ultimate good guy, he needs to have a little think about his values. It appears to me that his ego depends on scoring tries more than it does playing his part in the team, and that he likes to be ythe centre of attention. It is in direct contradiction to the values he carries in about, he needs to wake up to himself. I am in the Cooper fo 10 camp too, but we could have won that game with Foley. He kicked all his goals and distributed well, it was stuff ups by others that cost the game. I'm not a fan of the Pooper but I have to say both those players played welI. Ithink if we had played Fardy at 6 instead of Mumm and Timani on the bench instead of McMahon, that we would have handled the Irish loosies a lot better.
PeterK
Guest
what rubbish. Look at the press conference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbzI5yT3oEs Cheika is not fuming at all. He is asked leading questions. The journos try their best to get an explosion or headlines. He also gives credit to ireland and says they deserve to win. All his comments are fair.
Rugby101
Guest
and not a single player named or shamed. All about the coaching staff as a whole.