Ireland weather Australian revival to open Nations Championship campaign with thrilling win – The Irish Times

Nations Championship, Round One: Australia 31 Ireland 33

Seeing and hearing Australian pride in their international rugby team being vividly and vibrantly restored, for about 10 minutes after Ryan Lonergan’s try on the half-hour had extended the Wallabies’ lead to 24-10 there seemed to be only one winner. And it most definitely wasn’t Ireland.

Indeed, Ireland had looked off the pace and defensively disconnected, and during that 10 minutes it actually felt like the Wallabies might win well. The fear had lurked that with the Aussie competitive spirit bottling up five successive losses against Ireland and last summer’s series defeat to the Lions, they might unleash something ferocious.

After all, they are bristling with talented rugby players, especially when Rob Valetini is firing like he was here and the Len Ikitau-Joseph Suaalii midfield is getting quick front-foot ball.

Just 16 months out from hosting a World Cup, and with so much sporting patriotic fervour in the air on the back of the Socceroos’ World Cup campaign, there was also the Joe Schmidt factor. As those 10 minutes ebbed by, as first Suaalii broke through and looked sure to take Hugo Keenan on the outside and then Harry Wilson failed to locate Max Jorgensen on the edge, it felt like another very Joe coup.

But Ireland rolled with the punches and clung on for dear life as Keenan backed up a previous wonder tackle on Lonergan with his textbook, full-length, around-the-ankles try-saving tackle on Suaalii. Then Ireland sprang from the ropes, declining to kick the ball dead with the clock past the 40-minute mark from their only scrum of the game inside their own half, and playing and probing until Jamison Gibson-Park impishly skittled in by the posts from Jack Conan’s clever offload.

What might have been a 19-point lead had been trimmed to five and thereafter, especially when they kept pressing at 31-25 down even after a disallowed try, somehow you sensed they’d find a way. Even when not at their best, that’s what good teams do.

Heroes abounded. Take James Ryan’s latest 80-minute shift. His obstruction had seen Dan Sheehan’s 59th-minute finish ruled out and he’d knocked on to end another siege. But having helped resolve Ireland’s initial lineout difficulties, Ryan’s steal was a pivotal moment in the build-up to Thomas Clarkson’s 77th-minute try and Sam Prendergast’s match-winning conversion.

Staying calm in close-fought games has been a feature of Leinster’s campaign, and ditto in Ireland’s superb wins over England and Scotland, but this went deeper than even well-prepared tap plays and launch plays, or skill and execution. They have a shared identity in wanting to represent so many Irish abroad, witness The Fields reverberating around the stadium to the game’s last passage of play.

This was about character and belief in each other, which Andy Farrell said can never be taken as ingrained.

“No, it’s a constant development because everyone is human, everyone feels pressure. But you try and enclose it within your bubble and try and show each other what it means to be an Irish rugby player. That’s certainly a big part of it.”

Leinster’s latest URC title was founded on the defensive system brought in by two-time World Cup winner Jacques Nienaber. But as in Ireland’s last two campaigns – Six Nations opening night in Paris and the loss to the All Blacks in Chicago – reverting to an Irish defensive system wasn’t without its problems.

Furthermore, Stuart McCloskey was playing his first game in 10 weeks, although considering that, his latest bravura performance here was astonishing. He constantly won collisions and looked to free his hands. Like at Twickenham, the 33-year-old again chased down a younger winger.

But through little fault of his, Ireland had conceded nine line breaks by the half-hour mark and, all told, missed a whopping 36 tackles. Farrell admitted it was a disjointed defensive performance but one which, publicly at any rate, he preferred to attribute to the Wallabies.

“We became a bit disconnected away from the ball and, with their flowing rugby, people coming around the corner, they found a few tight-five forwards not connected enough, and that’s because of the speed of the ball. They created that,” said Farrell”

But after half-time the defence was better connected and there were less shooters out of the line. The replacements, notably Rónan Kelleher, Clarkson, Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney and Bundee Aki, also made a palpable impact, while Sam Prendergast ran the game well in the second half before delivering the coup de grace.

“It was a lovely, positive strike. It wasn’t something that just found its way over,” noted Farrell. “It was direct and it had a proper meaning to it as well. His touchline kicking was excellent as well.”

“He’s been great all week, but we’ve said it before, with our preparation being great, you’ve still got to go out there and deal with what the pressures of international rugby throws at you. That type of game threw everything at them, and they found a way. That’s the most pleasing thing.”

SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Pietsch try, 5-0; 9: C Prendergast try, S Prendergast con, 5-7; 13: Campbell try, 10-7; 18: Van der Flier try, 10-12; 23: Canham try, Gordon con, 17-12; 26: Lonergan try, Gordon con, 24-12; 40+1: Gibson-Park try, S Prendergast, con 24-19; Half-time 24-19; 46: Keenan try, S Prendergast con, 24-26; 52: McDermott try, Gordon con, 31-26; 76: Clarkson try, S Prendergast con, 31-33.

AUSTRALIA: J Campbell; M Jorgensen, JA Suaalii, L Ikitau, D Pietsch; C Gordon, R Lonergan; A Bell, J Nasser, A Alaalatoa; J Canham, J Williams; R Baletini, F McReight, H Wilson (capt).

Replacements: T McDermott for Lonergan (33 mins); T Tupou for Alaalatoa, B Paenga-Amosa for Nasser, J Slipper for Bell (all 54); B Donaldson for Gordon (57); L Shaw for Canham (58); T Wright for Campbell, T Hooper for Valetini (both 66).

IRELAND: H Keenan; J O’Brien, G Ringrose, S McCloskey, J Osborne; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; T O’Toole, D Sheehan (capt), T Furlong; J McCarthy, J Ryan; C Prendergast, J Van der Flier, J Conan.

Replacements: N Timoney for C Prendergast, T Berine for Van der Flier, T Clarkson for Furlong, J Loughman for O’Toole (all 51 mins); C Frawley for Osborne, B Aki for Ringrose (both 58); O’Toole for Loughman (59); R Kelleher for Sheehan (60).

Referee: B O’Keeffe (NZ).