As get-right games go, there wasn’t a lot about this one that could have gone better. It wasn’t perfect, it won’t have the Springboks turning the plane into reverse, its shelf-life mightn’t last long past Monday. But at the end, the scoreboard read 46-19 to Ireland, with six tries scored and no lineouts lost. Can’t ask for much more than that.
If at times the Wallabies looked like what they are – a tired side that has played 14 matches in 20 weeks – Ireland made sure they felt every minute of it. They had the first try on the board inside six minutes and scorched over for the last when the clock had ticked past 80. They were equal-opportunity bullies, exactly as required.
So much about Andy Farrell’s team in 2025 has been patchy and unsure of itself. Given the runaround by France, racing to get off the pitch against Italy, put comfortably to bed from a winning position by the All Blacks. Even the 41-10 win over Japan was unconvincing, like they were playing the hits on out-of-tune guitars.
But this was more like it. Things came together like they were supposed to. Mack Hansen was man of the match in an unfamiliar role. Sam Prendergast had a hand in three tries, was only denied a highlight-reel fourth by a spoilsport TMO and kicked a peach of a drop goal. Ryan Baird was a menace in the air and on the ground.
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“We didn’t get bored of doing the right thing,” Farrell said afterwards. Which is the kind of thing that sounds like a clever coaching nugget during the week but tough to honour in the heat of the battle. Especially when they’re searching for form, without the certainties that carried them to the top of the world rankings.
So none of this was inevitable. Putting Hansen at fullback could have gone wrong in so many ways, for example. Hey Mack, we know you’ve played one game of rugby in the past three months. And that you’ve never played a Test match at 15. And that this is the kind of weather that makes you wish you’d chosen any job in the world that didn’t involve catching high balls in front of an audience. But sure give it a go, there’s a good lad.
Hansen’s overall tally? Three tries, two towering high catches in defence, a couple more in attack, one perfectly judged mark under a Garryowen that wobbled in the wind. It was the first time an Ireland player had scored a first-half hat-trick in 95 years. Somewhere Hugo Keenan was smiling politely and thinking that Mack always takes a joke too far.
That’s the kind of night it was. A lot of things went right. Everybody watched the first lineout after five minutes like it was the opening scene of a soap episode resolving a cliffhanger. Dan Sheehan to Baird, a secure pick off the top, Jamison Gibson-Park safely away, no drama to report. Baird plundered away on the Aussie lineout too, like a master scrumper swinging through an orchard at will.
Ireland led more or less throughout and the only grumble anyone had at half-time was that they weren’t further ahead. Going into the break 19-14 up felt a bit unfulfilling, like emptying a bowl of popcorn and wondering why you’re still hungry. Ireland had been the slicker side, punchier off set-plays and full of trickery in possession. But Australia were right there with them.
Partly, it was Ireland’s discipline that held them back. Both Australia tries came from penalty advantages, sustained pressure on the Irish line telling in the end. As referee Karl Dickson walked back after the second one, he pulled Caelan Doris aside and told him Ireland would have got an official warning if the Wallabies hadn’t scored. He put them on notice for the second half as well.
In keeping with the theme of the night, they found a solution there too. The first penalty of the second half went their way after Doris got in over the ball like a limpet. Prendergast kicked a soaring drop goal while Ireland had a penalty advantage. A penalty in front of the posts was more or less Jack Crowley’s first act. And the only yellow card of the night went Australia’s way with nine minutes left on the clock, sealing the result.
So a good night, then. It won’t always be this way, naturally enough. It might not last any longer than next weekend when South Africa come to town. But Ireland couldn’t afford to go into a Test against the best side in the world patting their pockets and wondering where their form had gone. They needed a get-right game and they got what they were looking for.
It’s going to be a fun week.
