Just under 15 minutes to go, Ireland 19-15 behind the Wallabies after a performance pockmarked by errors, pressure on.
It’s the kind of scenario that teams contrive in training to test their ability to find solutions.
Sent onto the pitch at the same time, replacement halfbacks Craig Casey and Jack Crowley are tasked with guiding Ireland back in front and seeing out a win.
Crowley goes straight to lineout caller Iain Henderson to discuss the plan for attacking from the set-piece Ireland are about to throw into.
65:55
As Ireland set up at the lineout, Crowley is speaking to the backs outside him, delivering a few final instructions.
But we never get to see what Ireland have planned off this lineout as the Wallabies get up to steal the Irish throw.
Aussie skipper Harry Wilson makes a good read as James Ryan moves to the front to jump.
It’s one of six lineout losses for Ireland in a game that featured a whopping 24 Irish lineouts, an extremely high number.
What’s key in this endgame is that Andy Farrell’s team react well to any setbacks and that’s what happens here as hooker Rónan Kelleher immediately hammers into Wallabies scrum-half Tate McDermott.
McDermott knocks the ball on in contact and Ireland instantly get another set-piece platform as referee Andrea Piardi whistles for the scrum.
67:05
Farrell uses this break in play to send replacement hooker Gus McCarthy and sub loosehead prop Cian Healy on.
It’s good timing because the sight of Healy coming on to win his record-setting 134th cap is an obvious lift for Ireland.
The volume in the Aviva Stadium hits a new high as the supporters react too.
This is highly energising stuff for Ireland and shouldn’t be overlooked as a key reason for Ireland overturning the Wallabies’ lead and winning this game.
Ireland have made a huge deal of delivering for their team-mates on milestone occasions under Farrell and there is no greater milestone than Healy’s.
As important, Healy and McCarthy help to provide a solid scrum platform along with sub tighthead Tom O’Toole, giving Ireland a chance to play this time.
Caelan Doris pops off the base to Casey and the scrum-half does a good job of immediately threatening the line himself, accelerating upfield.
Casey’s run threat means Wallabies out-half Noah Lolesio [red above] has to sit down on him, while James Lowe coming short off Casey ties down Wallabies inside centre Len Ikitau [blue].
That leaves Wallabies outside centre Joseph Suaalii having to make a read and he shoots up as Casey fires his pass out the back of Lowe to Crowley.
Crowley’s slick catch-pass under pressure beats Suaalii and Ireland would have rued a missed chance for an outside break here.
Ringrose is running the front-door option for Crowley and that threat drags Wallabies wing Max Jorgensen [yellow below] infield initially.
But as Crowley’s pass instead finds Henshaw out the back, Jorgensen does well to adjust onto the other Irish centre.
Still, had fullback Hugo Keenan not overrun him here, then Henshaw would have had the option to draw Jorgensen and feed Keenan on the outside.
Ireland’s attack has been clunky at times this autumn and this is just one example.
As it is, Henshaw fires up a fend and even though Jorgensen drags him to ground, Ireland are over the gainline having stretched the Wallabies.
Crowley takes full advantage of that initial gain with his second touch of the game, showing off the footwork that gives him a point of difference as an out-half.
Recognising that Lolesio is coming forward at speed in a bid to win back metres for the Wallabies, Crowley gets his feet up off the ground as the ball is on the way to him from Casey.
That means Crowley can rapidly step off his left foot as he lands, taking him instantly to the outside of Lolesio.
The Wallabies number 10 recovers to slap down Crowley’s fend and stretch out to scrag him, meaning fullback Tom Wright doesn’t have to bite in and leave Mack Hansen free for a pass from Crowley, but the Irish out-half has made clear progress.
Ringrose steps in as first receiver and hits replacement flanker Peter O’Mahony for a carry infield before Casey gets a roar from Hansen to go back into the shortside, the Ireland wing spotting that Lolesio has stayed down injured after tackling Crowley.
Jorgensen has recognised the danger for the Wallabies and he races forward to shut down Casey’s passing option.
By shooting up, Jorgensen leaves space behind and Casey reacts well to identify it.
He’d obviously prefer his chip to be in the air for much shorter, dropping earlier for Hansen to gather and sprint into space for a possible try-scoring chance, but Hansen can still catch before the Wallabies can get under the ball.
Hansen does well, catching and spinning away from Ikitau before firing an offload infield.
Casey assesses his options and again spots an Aussie player advancing, lock Nick Frost, to leave space for him to go after.
Ireland have the Wallabies on the ropes as Crowley now steps in at scrum-half after Casey’s carry.
Crowley hits Beirne for a direct carry, Ireland playing on top of the Wallabies.
But the attack ends abruptly with a remarkable Fraser McReight turnover, one of his five breakdown poaches in a stunning individual performance.
Ringrose is close to Beirne for the clearout and will be disappointed not to have shifted McReight away but it’s a brilliant steal.
McReight shows a clear release and great speed to snap straight onto the ball, his grip strength keeping him connected to the ball even as Ringrose and O’Mahony arrive in a bid to clearout.
McReight is talking to the referee as he maintains contact with the ball and pulls it back onto the Wallabies’ side to ensure they survive an Irish attack that had looked like leading to a score.
68:39
Ringrose blocks down the Wallabies’ initial clearing effort before they find touch directly, giving Ireland another chance to attack.
Ireland play off the top and Casey shows composure to delay his pass as Frost breaks up from the lineout.
Frost gets into the passing channel to Crowley but Casey dummies to invite Frost further upfield, then fires his pass in behind Frost.
The Wallaby lock gets a light touch on the ball but Casey’s pass is powerful enough to find Crowley so Ireland can attack.
Henshaw carries off Crowley before captain Doris comes around the corner and tips on to hooker McCarthy for a gainline win.
Ireland are direct in the next four phases, carrying in the tight channels through Hansen, Henshaw, O’Mahony, and McCarthy.
And while they don’t dominate the gainline, their tight carring yields a penalty advantage as Wallabies back row Rob Valetini fails to roll away from a tackle before a second penalty for Suaalii’s no-arms late hit on Keenan.
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Ireland have a choice of penalties, with the first one straight in front of the posts, but they decide to go after the try rather than closing the scoreline to 19-18.
Crowley nudges the ball into the corner with his line kick, leaving Ireland just six metres out from the tryline.
It’s a prime try-scoring chance for Ireland, who have been clinical in these close-range instances this autumn.
70:21
McCarthy nails his throw to Henderson at the back of Ireland’s 5+1 lineout.
Having stayed down, the Wallabies do a decent job of managing the Irish maul and with O’Toole going to ground at the front right edge, referee Piardi decides Ireland have gone to ground first.
McCarthy decides to have a dart at the line himself but he’s held up brilliantly by McReight and wing Andrew Kellaway.
71:05
Ireland can keep the pressure on, though, as they receive the goal line drop out and Doris carries aggressively in midfield, getting over the Wallabies’ 10-metre line.
McCarthy and Keenan carry on the next two phases, the second of them looking a little muddled before Ireland snap into shape as Crowley calls for the ball from Casey.
Crowley hits Beirne, who plays a circle ball out the back to Henshaw and though the centre is wrapped up, Ireland have the Wallabies defence on the move again.
They immediately bounce back to their right as Crowley [yellow below] sets up behind Ireland’s pod of three forwards.
O’Mahony sweeps an accurate pass out the back as McCarthy runs a really convincing decoy line outside him, which draws in both Frost and Allan Alaalatoa.
With O’Mahony timing his pass well, Crowley has space to attack as he receives the ball.
The Irish out-half turns the corner well, straightening his run upfield to target the inside shoulder of Valetini, sitting him down and preserving space outside for Henderson to charge into.
Ikitau adjusts in to tackle Henderson but Ireland have got the Wallabies stretched and reacting again, giving their attack real momentum.
Ireland bounce back to their left on the next phase, the zig-zag pattern keeping the Australians guessing and Beirne tips on a pass for Healy to carry.
And on the next phase, Crowley makes an excellent decision backed up by excellent execution.
He has numbers outside him but it’s a narrow enough shortside and the Wallabies would probably be able to manage Ireland catching and passing.
Crowley identifies that with Kellaway and Lolesio now up on the edge of the Australian defence, fullback Wright has lots of ground to cover as he swings across the backfield.
Crowley makes a proactive decision to kick the ball, something Ireland probably haven’t done enough this autumn. They’ve sometimes kicked as a final resort.
Crowley’s intention is to keep the ball infield, leaving Wright in a highly-pressurised position.
And that’s exactly what Crowley achieves as he puts perfect weight on his kick, with Wright fearing that Lowe might get to the ball first and deciding to carry it out into touch.
Ireland get a five-metre lineout and Crowley shares a message to keep calm.
72:15
Ireland nail their maul opportunity from five metres out.
They use a 5+1 lineout again, with props Healy and O’Toole bookending the three possible jumping options of Beirne, O’Mahony, and Henderson. Josh van der Flier is the +1 player in the receiver position just off the lineout.
Ireland have pre-called the lineout before arriving in, so their trigger is McCarthy’s throw.
In the split second after McCarthy throws, O’Mahony turns back towards Henderson to give him a front lift as O’Toole steps forward to offer the back lift.
Australia are well beaten by Ireland’s snappy lineout work and don’t have a chance to decide whether to go up and compete. Instead, they’re instantly chasing to get into defensive maul shape.
Ireland’s work is only really starting.
Having lifted, O’Mahony and O’Toole do a good job of bracing at the front of the forming maul, staying tight to Henderson and closing off any possible seams through which the Wallabies could break.
Van der Flier arrives to take the ball from Henderson as Healy slots in on his left, with Beirne on his right.
As O’Mahony, Henderson, and O’Toole fight at the front edge of the maul, the trio of Healy, van der Flier, and Beirne look to give the Irish maul its initial momentum.
As we can see above, Healy and Beirne bind over van der Flier, bidding to keep the maul tight and connected as they drive towards the Wallabies line.
In any maul, there is an opposite force and the best mauls find a way around or through that opposing force.
In this instance, the initial counter effort from the Wallabies comes from Ireland’s right and they intuitively swing up to their left to get forward momentum, O’Mahony helping to steer them up that side.
The Wallabies collapse at this point, Alaalatoa and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto ending up on the ground whether by choice or losing their footing as they attempt to resist Ireland’s drive.
And the whole thing would probably come crashing down if not for Healy, who does a remarkable job to stay up on his feet over on Ireland’s left.
Healy’s arse is nearly down on the ground in the shot above and some players would just accept it, coming to ground knowing a penalty win was likely.
Healy fights to stay up, driving backwards towards the Aussie tryline in the process.
Ireland continue to inch foward, with O’Toole the only Irish player taken out by the Aussie collapse as Piardi indicates the advantage.
Ireland have managed to maintain excellent shape and with Alaalatoa and Salakai-Loto on the ground, they sense the opportunity back to their right.
O’Mahony and Henderson are now fighting at the front to help rotate Ireland up to their right, slingshotting the ball towards the tryline.
That movement shears them away from the remaining Aussie resistance and Beirne takes his cue, rotating his back into the Aussies to blast the remainder of the path open for McCarthy and provide a buffer between defenders and the ball.
McCarthy dots down.
It’s a superb maul try and Ireland are in front.
Crowley makes no mistake with the conversion and it’s a 22-19 lead.
73:45
No try is fully sealed until the ensuing restart has been dealt with.
Ireland do a fine job with the Aussie restart after McCarthy’s try, as they did all day.
As we discussed pre-match, Suaalii is a huge threat with his leaping power at restarts but Ireland did superb work of negating that danger.
Initially, Suaalii was used down the middle of the pitch but Henshaw did an excellent job with single lifts from behind by van der Flier.
The Wallabies then shifted Suaalii out to their right, where he did real damage against Maro Itoje and England. But again, Ireland managed superbly, as in this instance.
It’s a double lift on Beirne that gets the job done, as was the case in two other instances when James Ryan claimed restarts over Suaalii.
Healy [red below] is set up behind Beirne [yellow] as his back lifter, while McCarthy [blue] initially sets up as a possible back lifter on O’Mahony before shifting across to give Beirne a front lift.
It’s important that McCarthy isn’t on top of Beirne too early here, potentially blocking him from getting into the ideal spot to catch the ball.
Beirne knows it needs to be an overhead catch given Suaalii’s freakish jumping power, so he has to judge the landing spot perfectly.
And while Ireland don’t get the cleanest double lift ever, they do enough as Beirne leaps to field the ball at full stretch over his head, roughly an inch above Suaalii’s right hand which is looking to bat the ball back.
Restart receptions like this can be overlooked as run-of-the-mill but this is astonishing skill from Beirne in reality.
The restart win means Ireland are already close to the Wallabies’ 10-metre line, rather than deep in their own 22 after a longer restart. That means they don’t have to build for an exit kick but instead can launch a contestable with the aim of winning the ball back just inside the Australian half.
Lowe manages to bat Casey’s box kick back on the Irish side but Beirne is unlucky to knock on the bouncing ball, so Ireland have to defend from a scrum.
75:07
The Wallabies look to Suaalii’s carrying power with their scrum attack but Crowley and Henshaw do a great job on the Aussie centre.
Though Suaalii punches over the gainline, Crowley and Henshaw wrap him up in a choke tackle and are unlucky not to have a maul called here for a possible turnover.
Even still, the time they put into the tackle means the Wallabies are operating off slow ball. Indeed, it ends up being nearly an eight-second ruck for the Australians, awfully slow ball for any attack.
Ryan nearly wins a jackal turnover two phases later as the Wallabies look to build momentum, and then the Aussies knock the ball on when McReight fails to find Wright as Ireland’s defence comes forward.
The defensive win starts with that initial effort from Henshaw and Crowley.
76:41
Ireland have a midfield scrum and a prime chance to pin the Wallabies back, either by making gains with ball in hand or by kicking behind them.
They run a loop play off Casey’s pleasingly crisp pass, Crowley getting the ball back from Henshaw.
Suaalii reads off Ringrose onto Crowley as he gets the ball back but the Ireland out-half identifies that Wallabies left wing Jorgensen has closed up from the backfield, worried about the run threat with Hansen outside Crowley.
That means there’s clear kick space in behind, with fullback Wright having to swing across from a more central starting position.
So kicking is Crowley’s best option here, all the more so given the circumstances with Ireland three points up and just over three minutes remaining.
A good kick will either put Wright under more pressure as he gathers the ball close to the touchline or bounce into touch to allow the Irish lineout defence to put some pressure on the set-piece.
But the decision is not matched by the execution as Crowley overcooks his kick on the move.
The kick error means Ireland must defend from an Australian lineout near halfway.
77:00
The Wallabies’ throw looks crooked but it’s not called as such and Ireland get a turnover within a couple of seconds anyway.
They bring good linespeed and as Suaalii looks for a blind pass to Jorgensen, Irish centre Ringrose stepping in for the intercept.
Even if Jorgensen runs his line tighter to Suaalii here, Ringrose is in a great spot to deal with it after Crowley and Henshaw do well on his inside to nominate onto Ikitau and Suaalii.
Having regained possession, Ireland snap into their phase play without great initial intent to break the Wallabies.
But they end up in clean shape with a bit of characteristic interplay, Crowley hitting the 3-pod, Henderson playing a sweep pass to Hansen, and Hansen hitting Beirne in the 2-pod running into space.
Beirne looks for the offload to Keenan swinging up from behind the 2-pod but knocks on in the process.
78:50
A scrum reset eats away at a few valuable seconds before Casey makes a strong defensive play, enveloping McDermott at the base.
The Irish pack make a mess of the scrum and McDermott gets the ball from Wilson just before Casey wraps him up and flings him to ground.
Coming from the scrum, van der Flier recognises the chance to jackal and finish the game.
He clearly wins the race to the ball and gets his hands onto it before Wilson gets back around to try and clear him away.
But there does appear to be a split second where van der Flier loses contact with the ball, then gets his hand back to it, knocking it out the side of the ruck.
Piardi is shouting “no hands” just as van der Flier flicks the ball out and he immediately blows for an Aussie penalty.
It means Ireland need to defend one last time.
79:30
The Wallabies play off the top of their lineout near the halfway line.
It’s Ikitau who carries on first phase but Ireland do an excellent job again as Doris and Crowley make the tackle.
Doris and Crowley both fight hard to stay on their feet post-tackle, meaning they can once again slow the Aussie recycle. This kind of defensive work is a real point of difference for Crowley.
With more slow Aussie ball, Ireland can set themselves ideally to defend the second phase and they get lots of time in the tackle again as Beirne and Henderson wrap Wright up.
Onto third phase and the Wallabies are playing off more slow ball.
Van der Flier chops Alaalatoa, with McCarthy contesting the breakdown.
There’s no clear release from McCarthy and he doesn’t get a firm grip on the ball but he doesn’t push it so far as to be in penalty territory.
It’s good spoiling defensive play as Ireland once again frustrate the Wallabies’ hopes of putting speed onto the ball.
On the next phase, Suaalii has a carry and it looks like Doris’ tackle slips up over his shoulder but the Irish captain rapidly pulls his right arm away, doing just enough to avoid the penalty concession.
Ireland have won back the gainline and on the next phase, Henderson and van der Flier bring linespeed against the Wallabies’ 3-pod.
They tackle Frost and as van der Flier is cleared away, Frost attempts to place the ball only to knock it on in the process.
Piardi spots it and Ireland greet the final whistle with glee.
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How Casey and Crowley steered Ireland home against the Wallabies
65:30
Just under 15 minutes to go, Ireland 19-15 behind the Wallabies after a performance pockmarked by errors, pressure on.
It’s the kind of scenario that teams contrive in training to test their ability to find solutions.
Sent onto the pitch at the same time, replacement halfbacks Craig Casey and Jack Crowley are tasked with guiding Ireland back in front and seeing out a win.
Crowley goes straight to lineout caller Iain Henderson to discuss the plan for attacking from the set-piece Ireland are about to throw into.
65:55
As Ireland set up at the lineout, Crowley is speaking to the backs outside him, delivering a few final instructions.
But we never get to see what Ireland have planned off this lineout as the Wallabies get up to steal the Irish throw.
Aussie skipper Harry Wilson makes a good read as James Ryan moves to the front to jump.
It’s one of six lineout losses for Ireland in a game that featured a whopping 24 Irish lineouts, an extremely high number.
What’s key in this endgame is that Andy Farrell’s team react well to any setbacks and that’s what happens here as hooker Rónan Kelleher immediately hammers into Wallabies scrum-half Tate McDermott.
McDermott knocks the ball on in contact and Ireland instantly get another set-piece platform as referee Andrea Piardi whistles for the scrum.
67:05
Farrell uses this break in play to send replacement hooker Gus McCarthy and sub loosehead prop Cian Healy on.
It’s good timing because the sight of Healy coming on to win his record-setting 134th cap is an obvious lift for Ireland.
The volume in the Aviva Stadium hits a new high as the supporters react too.
This is highly energising stuff for Ireland and shouldn’t be overlooked as a key reason for Ireland overturning the Wallabies’ lead and winning this game.
Ireland have made a huge deal of delivering for their team-mates on milestone occasions under Farrell and there is no greater milestone than Healy’s.
As important, Healy and McCarthy help to provide a solid scrum platform along with sub tighthead Tom O’Toole, giving Ireland a chance to play this time.
Caelan Doris pops off the base to Casey and the scrum-half does a good job of immediately threatening the line himself, accelerating upfield.
Casey’s run threat means Wallabies out-half Noah Lolesio [red above] has to sit down on him, while James Lowe coming short off Casey ties down Wallabies inside centre Len Ikitau [blue].
That leaves Wallabies outside centre Joseph Suaalii having to make a read and he shoots up as Casey fires his pass out the back of Lowe to Crowley.
Crowley’s slick catch-pass under pressure beats Suaalii and Ireland would have rued a missed chance for an outside break here.
Ringrose is running the front-door option for Crowley and that threat drags Wallabies wing Max Jorgensen [yellow below] infield initially.
But as Crowley’s pass instead finds Henshaw out the back, Jorgensen does well to adjust onto the other Irish centre.
Still, had fullback Hugo Keenan not overrun him here, then Henshaw would have had the option to draw Jorgensen and feed Keenan on the outside.
Ireland’s attack has been clunky at times this autumn and this is just one example.
As it is, Henshaw fires up a fend and even though Jorgensen drags him to ground, Ireland are over the gainline having stretched the Wallabies.
Crowley takes full advantage of that initial gain with his second touch of the game, showing off the footwork that gives him a point of difference as an out-half.
Recognising that Lolesio is coming forward at speed in a bid to win back metres for the Wallabies, Crowley gets his feet up off the ground as the ball is on the way to him from Casey.
That means Crowley can rapidly step off his left foot as he lands, taking him instantly to the outside of Lolesio.
The Wallabies number 10 recovers to slap down Crowley’s fend and stretch out to scrag him, meaning fullback Tom Wright doesn’t have to bite in and leave Mack Hansen free for a pass from Crowley, but the Irish out-half has made clear progress.
Ringrose steps in as first receiver and hits replacement flanker Peter O’Mahony for a carry infield before Casey gets a roar from Hansen to go back into the shortside, the Ireland wing spotting that Lolesio has stayed down injured after tackling Crowley.
Jorgensen has recognised the danger for the Wallabies and he races forward to shut down Casey’s passing option.
By shooting up, Jorgensen leaves space behind and Casey reacts well to identify it.
He’d obviously prefer his chip to be in the air for much shorter, dropping earlier for Hansen to gather and sprint into space for a possible try-scoring chance, but Hansen can still catch before the Wallabies can get under the ball.
Hansen does well, catching and spinning away from Ikitau before firing an offload infield.
Casey assesses his options and again spots an Aussie player advancing, lock Nick Frost, to leave space for him to go after.
Ireland have the Wallabies on the ropes as Crowley now steps in at scrum-half after Casey’s carry.
Crowley hits Beirne for a direct carry, Ireland playing on top of the Wallabies.
But the attack ends abruptly with a remarkable Fraser McReight turnover, one of his five breakdown poaches in a stunning individual performance.
Ringrose is close to Beirne for the clearout and will be disappointed not to have shifted McReight away but it’s a brilliant steal.
McReight shows a clear release and great speed to snap straight onto the ball, his grip strength keeping him connected to the ball even as Ringrose and O’Mahony arrive in a bid to clearout.
McReight is talking to the referee as he maintains contact with the ball and pulls it back onto the Wallabies’ side to ensure they survive an Irish attack that had looked like leading to a score.
68:39
Ringrose blocks down the Wallabies’ initial clearing effort before they find touch directly, giving Ireland another chance to attack.
Ireland play off the top and Casey shows composure to delay his pass as Frost breaks up from the lineout.
Frost gets into the passing channel to Crowley but Casey dummies to invite Frost further upfield, then fires his pass in behind Frost.
The Wallaby lock gets a light touch on the ball but Casey’s pass is powerful enough to find Crowley so Ireland can attack.
Henshaw carries off Crowley before captain Doris comes around the corner and tips on to hooker McCarthy for a gainline win.
Ireland are direct in the next four phases, carrying in the tight channels through Hansen, Henshaw, O’Mahony, and McCarthy.
And while they don’t dominate the gainline, their tight carring yields a penalty advantage as Wallabies back row Rob Valetini fails to roll away from a tackle before a second penalty for Suaalii’s no-arms late hit on Keenan.
Ireland have a choice of penalties, with the first one straight in front of the posts, but they decide to go after the try rather than closing the scoreline to 19-18.
Crowley nudges the ball into the corner with his line kick, leaving Ireland just six metres out from the tryline.
It’s a prime try-scoring chance for Ireland, who have been clinical in these close-range instances this autumn.
70:21
McCarthy nails his throw to Henderson at the back of Ireland’s 5+1 lineout.
Having stayed down, the Wallabies do a decent job of managing the Irish maul and with O’Toole going to ground at the front right edge, referee Piardi decides Ireland have gone to ground first.
McCarthy decides to have a dart at the line himself but he’s held up brilliantly by McReight and wing Andrew Kellaway.
71:05
Ireland can keep the pressure on, though, as they receive the goal line drop out and Doris carries aggressively in midfield, getting over the Wallabies’ 10-metre line.
McCarthy and Keenan carry on the next two phases, the second of them looking a little muddled before Ireland snap into shape as Crowley calls for the ball from Casey.
Crowley hits Beirne, who plays a circle ball out the back to Henshaw and though the centre is wrapped up, Ireland have the Wallabies defence on the move again.
They immediately bounce back to their right as Crowley [yellow below] sets up behind Ireland’s pod of three forwards.
O’Mahony sweeps an accurate pass out the back as McCarthy runs a really convincing decoy line outside him, which draws in both Frost and Allan Alaalatoa.
With O’Mahony timing his pass well, Crowley has space to attack as he receives the ball.
The Irish out-half turns the corner well, straightening his run upfield to target the inside shoulder of Valetini, sitting him down and preserving space outside for Henderson to charge into.
Ikitau adjusts in to tackle Henderson but Ireland have got the Wallabies stretched and reacting again, giving their attack real momentum.
Ireland bounce back to their left on the next phase, the zig-zag pattern keeping the Australians guessing and Beirne tips on a pass for Healy to carry.
And on the next phase, Crowley makes an excellent decision backed up by excellent execution.
He has numbers outside him but it’s a narrow enough shortside and the Wallabies would probably be able to manage Ireland catching and passing.
Crowley identifies that with Kellaway and Lolesio now up on the edge of the Australian defence, fullback Wright has lots of ground to cover as he swings across the backfield.
Crowley makes a proactive decision to kick the ball, something Ireland probably haven’t done enough this autumn. They’ve sometimes kicked as a final resort.
Crowley’s intention is to keep the ball infield, leaving Wright in a highly-pressurised position.
And that’s exactly what Crowley achieves as he puts perfect weight on his kick, with Wright fearing that Lowe might get to the ball first and deciding to carry it out into touch.
Ireland get a five-metre lineout and Crowley shares a message to keep calm.
72:15
Ireland nail their maul opportunity from five metres out.
They use a 5+1 lineout again, with props Healy and O’Toole bookending the three possible jumping options of Beirne, O’Mahony, and Henderson. Josh van der Flier is the +1 player in the receiver position just off the lineout.
Ireland have pre-called the lineout before arriving in, so their trigger is McCarthy’s throw.
In the split second after McCarthy throws, O’Mahony turns back towards Henderson to give him a front lift as O’Toole steps forward to offer the back lift.
Australia are well beaten by Ireland’s snappy lineout work and don’t have a chance to decide whether to go up and compete. Instead, they’re instantly chasing to get into defensive maul shape.
Ireland’s work is only really starting.
Having lifted, O’Mahony and O’Toole do a good job of bracing at the front of the forming maul, staying tight to Henderson and closing off any possible seams through which the Wallabies could break.
Van der Flier arrives to take the ball from Henderson as Healy slots in on his left, with Beirne on his right.
As O’Mahony, Henderson, and O’Toole fight at the front edge of the maul, the trio of Healy, van der Flier, and Beirne look to give the Irish maul its initial momentum.
As we can see above, Healy and Beirne bind over van der Flier, bidding to keep the maul tight and connected as they drive towards the Wallabies line.
In any maul, there is an opposite force and the best mauls find a way around or through that opposing force.
In this instance, the initial counter effort from the Wallabies comes from Ireland’s right and they intuitively swing up to their left to get forward momentum, O’Mahony helping to steer them up that side.
The Wallabies collapse at this point, Alaalatoa and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto ending up on the ground whether by choice or losing their footing as they attempt to resist Ireland’s drive.
And the whole thing would probably come crashing down if not for Healy, who does a remarkable job to stay up on his feet over on Ireland’s left.
Healy’s arse is nearly down on the ground in the shot above and some players would just accept it, coming to ground knowing a penalty win was likely.
Healy fights to stay up, driving backwards towards the Aussie tryline in the process.
Ireland continue to inch foward, with O’Toole the only Irish player taken out by the Aussie collapse as Piardi indicates the advantage.
Ireland have managed to maintain excellent shape and with Alaalatoa and Salakai-Loto on the ground, they sense the opportunity back to their right.
O’Mahony and Henderson are now fighting at the front to help rotate Ireland up to their right, slingshotting the ball towards the tryline.
That movement shears them away from the remaining Aussie resistance and Beirne takes his cue, rotating his back into the Aussies to blast the remainder of the path open for McCarthy and provide a buffer between defenders and the ball.
McCarthy dots down.
It’s a superb maul try and Ireland are in front.
Crowley makes no mistake with the conversion and it’s a 22-19 lead.
73:45
No try is fully sealed until the ensuing restart has been dealt with.
Ireland do a fine job with the Aussie restart after McCarthy’s try, as they did all day.
As we discussed pre-match, Suaalii is a huge threat with his leaping power at restarts but Ireland did superb work of negating that danger.
Initially, Suaalii was used down the middle of the pitch but Henshaw did an excellent job with single lifts from behind by van der Flier.
The Wallabies then shifted Suaalii out to their right, where he did real damage against Maro Itoje and England. But again, Ireland managed superbly, as in this instance.
It’s a double lift on Beirne that gets the job done, as was the case in two other instances when James Ryan claimed restarts over Suaalii.
Healy [red below] is set up behind Beirne [yellow] as his back lifter, while McCarthy [blue] initially sets up as a possible back lifter on O’Mahony before shifting across to give Beirne a front lift.
It’s important that McCarthy isn’t on top of Beirne too early here, potentially blocking him from getting into the ideal spot to catch the ball.
Beirne knows it needs to be an overhead catch given Suaalii’s freakish jumping power, so he has to judge the landing spot perfectly.
And while Ireland don’t get the cleanest double lift ever, they do enough as Beirne leaps to field the ball at full stretch over his head, roughly an inch above Suaalii’s right hand which is looking to bat the ball back.
Restart receptions like this can be overlooked as run-of-the-mill but this is astonishing skill from Beirne in reality.
The restart win means Ireland are already close to the Wallabies’ 10-metre line, rather than deep in their own 22 after a longer restart. That means they don’t have to build for an exit kick but instead can launch a contestable with the aim of winning the ball back just inside the Australian half.
Lowe manages to bat Casey’s box kick back on the Irish side but Beirne is unlucky to knock on the bouncing ball, so Ireland have to defend from a scrum.
75:07
The Wallabies look to Suaalii’s carrying power with their scrum attack but Crowley and Henshaw do a great job on the Aussie centre.
Though Suaalii punches over the gainline, Crowley and Henshaw wrap him up in a choke tackle and are unlucky not to have a maul called here for a possible turnover.
Even still, the time they put into the tackle means the Wallabies are operating off slow ball. Indeed, it ends up being nearly an eight-second ruck for the Australians, awfully slow ball for any attack.
Ryan nearly wins a jackal turnover two phases later as the Wallabies look to build momentum, and then the Aussies knock the ball on when McReight fails to find Wright as Ireland’s defence comes forward.
The defensive win starts with that initial effort from Henshaw and Crowley.
76:41
Ireland have a midfield scrum and a prime chance to pin the Wallabies back, either by making gains with ball in hand or by kicking behind them.
They run a loop play off Casey’s pleasingly crisp pass, Crowley getting the ball back from Henshaw.
Suaalii reads off Ringrose onto Crowley as he gets the ball back but the Ireland out-half identifies that Wallabies left wing Jorgensen has closed up from the backfield, worried about the run threat with Hansen outside Crowley.
That means there’s clear kick space in behind, with fullback Wright having to swing across from a more central starting position.
So kicking is Crowley’s best option here, all the more so given the circumstances with Ireland three points up and just over three minutes remaining.
A good kick will either put Wright under more pressure as he gathers the ball close to the touchline or bounce into touch to allow the Irish lineout defence to put some pressure on the set-piece.
But the decision is not matched by the execution as Crowley overcooks his kick on the move.
The kick error means Ireland must defend from an Australian lineout near halfway.
77:00
The Wallabies’ throw looks crooked but it’s not called as such and Ireland get a turnover within a couple of seconds anyway.
They bring good linespeed and as Suaalii looks for a blind pass to Jorgensen, Irish centre Ringrose stepping in for the intercept.
Even if Jorgensen runs his line tighter to Suaalii here, Ringrose is in a great spot to deal with it after Crowley and Henshaw do well on his inside to nominate onto Ikitau and Suaalii.
Having regained possession, Ireland snap into their phase play without great initial intent to break the Wallabies.
But they end up in clean shape with a bit of characteristic interplay, Crowley hitting the 3-pod, Henderson playing a sweep pass to Hansen, and Hansen hitting Beirne in the 2-pod running into space.
Beirne looks for the offload to Keenan swinging up from behind the 2-pod but knocks on in the process.
78:50
A scrum reset eats away at a few valuable seconds before Casey makes a strong defensive play, enveloping McDermott at the base.
The Irish pack make a mess of the scrum and McDermott gets the ball from Wilson just before Casey wraps him up and flings him to ground.
Coming from the scrum, van der Flier recognises the chance to jackal and finish the game.
He clearly wins the race to the ball and gets his hands onto it before Wilson gets back around to try and clear him away.
But there does appear to be a split second where van der Flier loses contact with the ball, then gets his hand back to it, knocking it out the side of the ruck.
Piardi is shouting “no hands” just as van der Flier flicks the ball out and he immediately blows for an Aussie penalty.
It means Ireland need to defend one last time.
79:30
The Wallabies play off the top of their lineout near the halfway line.
It’s Ikitau who carries on first phase but Ireland do an excellent job again as Doris and Crowley make the tackle.
Doris and Crowley both fight hard to stay on their feet post-tackle, meaning they can once again slow the Aussie recycle. This kind of defensive work is a real point of difference for Crowley.
With more slow Aussie ball, Ireland can set themselves ideally to defend the second phase and they get lots of time in the tackle again as Beirne and Henderson wrap Wright up.
Onto third phase and the Wallabies are playing off more slow ball.
Van der Flier chops Alaalatoa, with McCarthy contesting the breakdown.
There’s no clear release from McCarthy and he doesn’t get a firm grip on the ball but he doesn’t push it so far as to be in penalty territory.
It’s good spoiling defensive play as Ireland once again frustrate the Wallabies’ hopes of putting speed onto the ball.
On the next phase, Suaalii has a carry and it looks like Doris’ tackle slips up over his shoulder but the Irish captain rapidly pulls his right arm away, doing just enough to avoid the penalty concession.
Ireland have won back the gainline and on the next phase, Henderson and van der Flier bring linespeed against the Wallabies’ 3-pod.
They tackle Frost and as van der Flier is cleared away, Frost attempts to place the ball only to knock it on in the process.
Piardi spots it and Ireland greet the final whistle with glee.
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Analysis Halfbacks Impact Ireland