RWC #9: Ireland finally crack the Wallabies in 2011

With rugby’s senior nations forming a relatively small pool of just eight sides, it figures that certain teams tend to meet each other regularly at the World Cup.

Take New Zealand and France, for example. The All Blacks and Les Bleus have come across each other in two finals and played a number of tournament defining epics in between.

For Ireland, the familiar foes at the tournament have been Australia. In seven editions of the tournament the two sides have met five times. You could probably write a book about Ireland against Australia at the Rugby World Cup.

But Ireland’s relationship with Australia at the tournament hasn’t been a particularly happy one, with the Wallabies proving a particularly tough nut to crack.

It started in 1987 when Michael Lynagh helped dump Ireland out in the quarter-finals and it happened again four years later when Lynagh combined with David Campese to break Irish hearts at Lansdowne Road.

In 1999 it was a comprehensive 23-3 loss in the pool stages and in 2003 it was impossibly tight again, Australia winning by a single point in Melbourne.

But if at first you don’t succeed, keep trying and eventually you’ll beat Australia. Or something like that.

Drawn together in the 2011 World Cup, Australia, having just won the tri-nations series, were favourites to top Pool C. But Ireland had other ideas.

The Irish pack obliterated Australia . Sean O'Brien and Stephen Ferris were at their dynamic, brutal best in the backrow while Cian Healy, Rory Best and Mike Ross were devastating in the scrum.

There were no tries in a forward affair at a soaked Eden Park but the boots of Ronan O'Gara and Johnny Sexton, the old and the new guard, kicked Ireland to a historic 15-6 win, denying Australia even a bonus point.

Ireland had finally cracked Australia and recorded their finest World Cup win to date.