Rugby World Cup Match Report - Ireland 15 - 6 Australia
Saturday 17 September 2011
In what is one of the greatest results for Irish rugby, the men in green ground out a well deserved victory against Australia. The Wallabies were outplayed, out-muscled and out-scored by the men from the Emerald Isle.
If anybody doubted Ireland's form after their opening game against the USA, it didn't take long for the men in green to prove what they are capable of. Within two minutes they showed their intent to play rugby by running a penalty from their own 22m area and disrupting an early Australian lineout. The attack came to nothing following strong counter rucking by the Australian pack lead to a period of Australian pressure.
O'Connor soon had the chance of taking the first points of the match following a high tackle by Irish full back Kearney, but the Australian winger pushed to penalty wide. He made no mistakes minutes later as he slotted over his second penalty attempt. It was just reward for the Wallabies who had patiently worked through the phases following a superb kick and chase by full-back Beale.
Ireland didn't drop their heads following the pressure and nearly bounced back immediately, but Sexton missed a long range penalty. Over the course of the next few minutes continued Irish pressure lead to a successful Sexton penalty and subsequently a drop goal from the edge of the 22 leaving the score 6-3 in Ireland's favour.
The lead didn't last long with O'Connor converting another penalty after 24 minutes. That was to prove the last score of the half. Both sides had chances but squandered overlaps and missed penalties. The half ended with a period of sustained Irish dominance up front. After a series of scrums the pack had the bit between their teeth and turned over the ball to create one final chance. As the ball was spun across the field Ferris spilled the ball in contact to bring the half to an end.
The second half began at break neck speed with both sides counter attacking. Australian full back Beale made a dangerous break down the left flank before off-loading, unfortunately for the Wallabies the ball was soon knocked forward allowing Ireland to counter. It wasn't long before Ireland managed to grab another 3 points from the boot of Sexton to restore a 3 point lead.
With the rain starting, Ireland were forced to bring on Ronan O'Gara on to replace the injured D'Arcy with Sexton moving to inside centre. With a Sexton penalty striking the posts with O'Driscoll narrowly missing out on gathering the rebound the Irish tails were up. They disrupted the Australian counter attack before turning the ball over and mounting a dangerous attack. Referee Bryce Lawrence signaled the end of the attack by awarding a penalty for infringements at the break down.
Entering the final quarter of the game the sides looked equally matched. Australia, in particular Cooper and Beale, looked very dangerous in attack but somehow the Irish defence always scrambled together to hold firm. Despite their slight advantage in terms of territory and possession, Ireland still only had the slightest of leads. With Australia yet again penalized in the scrum O'Gara took over the kicking duties and extended the Irish lead to 6 points.
As the weather progressively worsened handling became more difficult. As the ball was spilt in the Australian 22m following a huge Garryowen, Kearney latched onto the bouncing ball and set up a series of Irish surges towards the try line “ each time repelled by the men in gold. The pressure eventually told as Australia were yet again penalized in the scrum leaving O'Gara with a straight forward penalty to put Ireland more than one score ahead. The crowd, with all the neutrals supporting Ireland, were sent into a frenzy and the stage for the final 10 minutes was set.
Wave after wave of Australian attack was launched, lead by New Zealand born Cooper, but the final pass never quite went to hand. With a turnover won from an Irish scrum Australia was again found themselves camped on the Irish try line. With no way through the Irish defence and time ticking away, a 5m scrum was given to leave Australia with a superb attacking chance. The scrum lead to a penalty, which taken quickly looked to have broken through the Irish defence. Cooper tried an extravagant offload which Irish winger Tommy Bowe intercepted and set off down the pitch. It was only a last ditch tackle which brought him down.
As the clock ticked towards to 80 minutes, Australia need to go the whole length of the pitch to get a losing bonus point. Substitute Murray somehow found himself crossing the tryline for what looked like the icing on the cake, but was pulled back for an offside decision. One final assault by the Wallabies led to their final transgression. All that was left was for O'Driscoll the simple task of kicking the ball out of touch the end the game and secure the victory. It was a huge victory for Declan Kidney's side and one that should see them top the group and most likely face Wales in the quarter finals.
