Ireland up intensity to force series decider
GRAND SLAM winners Ireland showed their class in Melbourne yesterday with a more convincing win than the scoreline might suggest and now have the wind in their sails for the series decider in Sydney on Saturday.
Ireland noticeably dropped off in the second half last week in Brisbane but maintained their physicality and intensity for the full 80 here and, apart from the very start and the very end, controlled the game well.
They also had to adapt to an eccentric performance after the break from New Zealand referee Paul Williams who seemed determined not to yellow card Australia's hard pressed defence as they infringed repeatedly defending their line.
Williams twice warned them that the next offender would be off but didn't act on his edict and also softpedalled on Bernard Foley who received only a penalty for a deliberate knock on.
Meanwhile, throughout the game he refused to talk to Conor Murray – fair enough he wasn't the Ireland captain – but kept up a steady dialogue with David Pocock who wasn't the Australian captain. Baffling.
Australia made an encouraging start with Kurtley Beale roaring through the middle for a well-conceived try but Ireland replied with a nicely taken try by Andrew Conway when Australia were down to 14 men, Marika Koroibete escaping with just a yellow card after tip-tackling Rob Kearney.
Johnny Sexton slotted the conversion and, with Ireland dominating territorially, Ireland's fly-half added three penalties before Australia got back in the game with a strong lineout rumble that rightly both resulted in a penalty try and a yellow card for Cian Healy for dragging down the maul.
After the break it got very scrappy for a while with Australia defending their line desperately and cynically.
Twice they got away with just a penalty but were on a final warning for a third and Ireland were playing advantage for a blatant offside when Tadhg Fulong piled over. For reasons unknown Williams, although awarding the try, did not also send the Australia culprit to the bin as was the case with Healy.
Ireland refused to be distracted, another penalty saw them go 26-14 up and they were attacking promisingly in their own half when Foley's knock on – described as ‘deliberate' by the referee himself – thwarted their effort. Up until that point it was all Ireland but going into the final ten everything tensed up a bit.
With five minutes to go, and with Ireland under the pump close to their line, there is no question Jack McGrath, at the bottom of a ruck, deserved a yellow for interfering with the ball but that decision to card the prop only highlighted the absence of such measures earlier in the half.
From the next line out replacement prop Taniela Tupou – dubbed Tongan Thor – thundered over and Ireland were forced to dig deep right at the end for the win which they so richly deserved.
This has already been a very high-quality series and the best might yet be to come.
Munsterman O'Mahony had to cede second best to Pocock last week but came roaring back with a strong all-round performance including a couple of priceless turnovers at key moments.
Pocock was still a strong presence but not as effective as in the first Test so this one I'm chalking up to O'Mahony.
