Champagne on ice as Sydney series decider fills Ireland’s horizon

Australia 21 Ireland26: A long hot summer of regret and a determination not to revisit the pain of their 2016 tour to South Africa will help drive the bid to reach new heights in Sydney this Saturday after Ireland tied the series with this well-deserved victory at AAMI Park.

Rob Kearney. Picture: Sportsfile

Saturday’s impressive victory over the Wallabies gave the Irish a first win on Australian soil since 1979 and now Joe Schmidt’s side have a chance to emulate their predecessor’s series success of 39 years ago.

The win sparked celebrations across Melbourne on Saturday night as a huge expatriate population made merry after roaring their support inside the stadium, providing all the decibels and supplying perhaps 60 per cent of the 29,018 crowd.