It’s the 11th game for Ireland in 2024, and the final match with Andy Farrell as head coach before he takes his British and Irish Lions sabbatical.
Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series has been a mixed bag so far, with three games played. The opener, against New Zealand, was a real anti-climax as Ireland looked never got going, while they produced an impressive first 30 minutes against Argentina the following week.
The most recent of the three games, against Fiji last Saturday, was comfortably the best, as Ireland ran in eight tries in a 52-17 win.
There’s no doubt that the Wallabies will be a step up in class, however, particularly with former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt leading the visitors.
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ONLINE
We’ll have a live blog, match report, player ratings and post-game reaction from Aviva Stadium on rte.ie/sport.
RADIO
There will be live commentary on RTÉ 2fm on Saturday afternoon.
TV
The game will be live on Virgin Media and TNT Sports.
WEATHER
Conditions will be mixed for Saturday afternoon. It’s likely to be a dry afternoon in Dublin, with any rain expected to be just a light shower, with temperatures around 13C. However, there will be strong wind blowing throughout the game.
While Ireland have won each of their last three meetings with the Wallabies, none of those games have been easy victories.
The most recent meeting of the sides is a fine example of that. When Australia visited Dublin in 2022, they did so in a poor run of form under then-coach Dave Rennie and fresh off the back of a shock defeat to Italy in Florence.
There was talk of Ireland putting a big score on the Wallabies that evening, but the game went right down to the wire, with Ross Byrne’s penalty four minutes from time eventually nudging Ireland to a 13-10 win.
It’s been a season of high highs and low lows for Australia in their first year with Joe Schmidt, but they do appear to be making slow, steady progress under the former Ireland coach who took over from Eddie Jones after their disastrous World Cup.
Among their six wins so far this season was a Test series victory at home to Wales, while their win away to England in Twickenham three weeks ago was one of their best performances in years.
In contrast there have also been six defeats, including last week’s sluggish 27-13 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield, but the one that stands out is the 67-27 trouncing away to Argentina in Santa Fe.
The upheaval Schmidt (below) has overseen is well summed up by this week’s team news, with 24-year-old Tane Edmed set to be the 19th debutant of the year for the Wallabies, with the Waratahs out-half named on the bench.
Ireland and Leinster’s old nemesis Will Skelton is unavailable as he return to La Rochelle, with this game coming outside the official international window, but Schmidt has been able to add some heft back into his pack with tighthead Taniela Tupou back from a knee injury, and 6ft 9in lock Nick Frost at second row.
In total, there are six changes to the Australia team. One surprising switch comes at loosehead where the destructive Angus Bell moves to the bench, replaced by veteran James Slipper.
Crucially, rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has been passed fit to start after suffering a hand injury last week. The 21-year-old will earn his fourth cap this weekend.
On the Irish side, the big team news comes in the form of Sam Prendergast being given a start at out-half, at the expense of Jack Crowley who is on the bench, and Ciarán Frawley, who misses out entirely.
Farrell has made five changes from last week’s comfortable win over Fiji, with Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe, Hugo Keenan, Rónan Kelleher and James Ryan all returning to the side.
TEAMS
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki; James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Garry Ringrose.
Australia: Tom Wright; Andrew Kellaway, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Max Jorgensen; Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Taniela Tupou, Nick Frost, Jeremy Williams; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt)
Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Allan Alaalatoa, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Tane Edmed, Harry Potter.
OFFICIALS
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
AR1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
AR2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
WHAT THEY SAID
Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach): “Australia are certainly progressing. We feel that the occasion, the importance of it, everything that we put on, trying to kick on in any type of series is enough for us to see the best of ourselves. The 150th anniversary is a special place for us. It’s a huge privilege for us all.”
Joe Schmidt (Australia head coach): “I think what you’d have seen if you looked right through the last four games, we have been looking at different combinations and we’ve shifted things by four or five players every week, because we’ve got an eye on the immediate prize, and we want to be as competitive as we can.
“But at the same time, we know we’ve got to build some depth in preparation for the British and Irish Lions next year. And so that was always the brief for me coming into the job, because that’s a massive series for the Wallabies, and for the Australian public.”
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Ireland 13-10 Australia – Aviva Stadium (19 November, 2022)
Australia 16-20 Ireland – Stadium Australia, Sydney (23 June, 2018)
Australia 21-26 Ireland – AAMI Park, Melbourne (16 June, 2018)
Australia 18-9 Ireland – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (9 June, 2018)
Ireland 27-24 Australia – Aviva Stadium, (26 November, 2016)
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