As it happened: Ireland v Australia, Autumn internationals
Ireland’s Mack Hansen scores his side's third try of the match despite Australia’s James O'Connor close attention. Pic: INPHO/Gary Carr
That's it for the liveblog for this evening. Simon Lewis will have a full-time match report up online imminently, and there will be player ratings and reaction from both camps - plus another podcast - to come later in the evening, on Sunday and in Monday's paper and online.
Don't forget, too, that John Fallon is in Budapest for Sunday's huuuuuge World Cup qualifier between the Republic of Ireland and Hungary. We'll be liveblogging that one as well and bringing all the other bells and whistle besides.
That one's a 2pm kickoff, remember!
That's Ireland's best performance of the November window by a good distance. Still not perfect, mind you, but definitely a step in the right direction before they welcome the all-conquering and franky scary-looking Springboks to Dublin for the last of the month's appointments in seven day's time.
For the visitors, that's a tenth defeat in 14 games this calendar year and a sixth in their last seven games. And Joe Schmidt's tiring Wallabies will wrap their tour up against France next week. It won't get any easier for them.
And that's the seventh of the evening for the home team. Lovely crossfield kick from Jamison Gibson-Park - who was brought back on to play on the wing! - find Henshaw in acres of space.
Jack Crowley adds a lovely conversion to make it 46-14 with the last kick.
Peter O'Mahony pops up on the big screen to one of the biggest cheers of the night. He even smiled!
That's the sixth of the night for Ireland and the conversion makes it 39-19 with mere minutes to go.
Ach! The French have pulled away from Fiji with a try to seal that one. Almost over there. Pity.
Replacement hooker Billy Pollard rumbles over in the corner to almost total silence. The crowd thinks this one is over.
Tane Edmed's conversion from the touchline falls away so Australia are still 13 points back.
Ireland 32-19 Australia.
Standing ovation for Mack Hansen as he is replaced. You'd have to say he deserved it, like.
Referee Karl Dickson looks at contact off the ball between Thomas Clarkson and Nick Frost and gives the Aussie a yellow for high contact even when Clarkson wasn't in possession. This happened in the led-up to the try. Seems harsh really, the two just bumped into each other.
And that's the game. Really good work by Ireland with James Lowe making a break up the left wing and Ireland supporting well before picking and jamming their way over after multiple phases.
Jack Crowley adds the extras and it's 32-14.
France are only leading Fiji 27-21 with 12 minutes to go in Bordeaux btw...
Big moment! The Wallabies overthrow a lineout deep in the Irish 22 and Caelan Doris picks it off and sets up the exit.
The Aussies are penalised at the scrum and Crowley's first action is a simple kick between the posts.
Ireland 25-14 Australia.
The Wallabies need two tries now. Big.
Jack Crowley comes on in place of Sam Prendergast who did some lovely stuff but missed a couple of tackles too.
Tommy O'Brien runs in for a sublime try but the officials are checking a knock-on!
Well now, that would have been just a sumptuous score with Sam Prendergast dinking a perfectly-flighted kick right into the winger's bread basket.
No try, is the official decision, but the first knock-on was by the Aussies so scrum Ireland just inside the Aussie 22.
Worth noting that Ireland's lineout has been so much better today after all the criticism and focus on it in recent weeks.
Both benches are unloading now. Ireland's was excellent last week against a tiring Japanese side. Big 22 minutes to come here.
And there we have it. Sam Prendergast pops over a drop goal after a period of play where Ireland go side to side with little in the way of gains. George Ford kicked two earlier for England, too.
Ireland 22-14 Australia.
Australia concede a scrum penalty... Yeah, that's all we've got for the minute.
Great break by Sam Prendergast and Ireland go on the front foot until a knock-on kills the move...
Dan Sheehan is held up over the line after he peels off from a lineout maul. All from the Doris breakdown work.
Nick Timoney and Andrew Porter on as Ireland make the first of their second-half replacements.
Huge cheer as captain Caelan Doris wins a penalty from an attempted jackal.
Sweet Caroline filling in a break in play. Hey, I guess it is a Saturday night but they really should turn it off when play restarts, right? Second-half still to get going here.
Stop the presses! Mack Hansen just dropped a simple catch from a long kick.
The teams are back on the park for the second-half.
Meanwhile, in Bordeaux...
Official stats have Ireland with 54% possession and 55% territory. More metres gained, more carries, and more tries obvs! Tackle success rates about even, defenders beaten the same.
Ireland's penalty count a concern though. Six against already and more unrecorded as the ref played advantage for the two Australian tries.
A curious sort of half, really, with Ireland seemingly on top for a lot of it but Australia getting 14 points from what were really their only two concerted attacks.
Mack Hansen's hat-trick will be remembered the most but this one is still very much alive.
Fraser McReight gets over right on the stroke of half-time from close up having played with advantage of two penalties. That's a sickener for Ireland but so timely for the Wallabies who, with the conversion, go in just five points behind.
Ireland 19-14 to the good.
Nice bit of trivia here...
Officials are looking at a tackle by James Lowe on the big screen. Just a penalty against the Leinster man. Phew!
By the way, if anyone has any suggestions for headlines that aren't 'Mack the Knife' or 'Return of the Mack' we're all ears. Ta.
Here's Mack's second saunter underneath the Aussie posts...
That's a 28-minute hat-trick for the Connacht man. Lovely chip kick Prendergast to Tommy O'Brien and when the ball drops to the turf it's Hansen there to pick it up and go over.
That leaves it 19-7 to Ireland after Prendergast misses with the extras.
Bundee Aki is on for the unfortunate Stuart McCloskey who seems to pick up an injury every time he gets a big chance in green.
Ireland James Lowe stopped just short of the line after a nice grubber through to him by Tommy O'Brien but they have a five-metre scrum. Great chance here.
James Ryan escapes with nothing worse than a penalty against him for what an Aussie might say was a crocodile roll on Fraser McReight.
Superb response by Australia who go through a tonne Of phases with ball in hand between forwards and backs before a series of pick and goes close to the line ends with Len Ikitau popping over beside one of the posts.
James O'Connor adds the kick to reduce Ireland lead to seven.
Ireland 14-7 Australia now.
Here's that opening try from Mack the Knife.
That man again. And under the sticks again too. It all comes from that knock-on and the Ireland scrum with the ball fed infield and another stroll over for the full-back off a wraparound pass. Worryingly easy from a Wallaby point of view.
Ireland back deep in the Aussie 22 with a Prendergast kick knocked on by Max Jorgensen. Huge chance here again.
Mack Hansen goes over. All the early play was in the Aussie half and James Lowe came up a metre short off a quick tap from Jamison Gibson-Park before the ball was recycled infield and the Connacht man was able to stroll over.
Ireland 7-0 up with the easy conversion for Sam Prendergast.
The Aussies must REALLY feel sick losing Hansen, Canberra-born and bred, to Ireland by now!
Sam Prendergast kicked deep into the Aussie 22, it's well dealt with and cleared but Mack Hansen makes a great take in the air to set Ireland up for a first attack. Welcome back Mack!
All three anthems done with. Nothing else for it now but to play a game of rugby!
A moment's applause for Barry McGann and Mick Lane, two greats of the Irish game who passed away in the last week
The lads...
Bit chillier here this evening than two nights ago, and there's a very soft rain falling that might not be picked up by the TV cameras
Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt disappearing down the tunnel together there now after a chinwag on the side of the pitch. Schmidt has been loving his week back in Dublin, drinking coffees with old friends and colleagues and having dinner with some of his family who still live here. Don't think he made it to Faz's gaff in Sandymount though.
And this is your Wallaby team for the evening. Unusual team graphic this one. Just keep it simple lads, yeah?
It’s already been a full day of rugby with Ireland-Australia and then France-Fiji still to kick off.
World champions South Africa overcame a red card for the second week in a row, the loss of Franco Mostert failing to soften their cough against an Italian team that took down the Wallabies the week before.
England overcame the All Blacks for the first time since the World Cup semi-final in 2019 with Steve Borthwick’s men recovering from a 12-0 deficit to score the next 25 points and pull clear with the help of a bomb squad off the bench.
Georgia 38-17 Canada
Italy 14-32 South Africa
Romania 18-26 USA
England 33-19 New Zealand
Wales 24-23 Japan
Lots of interesting talking points in Andy Farrell's XV and 23, of course. Here's the Ireland gaffer two days ago on his reasoning for going with Sam Prendergast instead of Jack Crowley this time.
The teamsheets have been handed in and Ireland and Australia are as named on Thursday.
Here's Ireland's offering...
A very good evening from the Aviva Stadium, AGAIN!
What a week it’s been here in Ballsbridge. We had Ireland-Japan in the rugger last Saturday, Shamrock Rovers-Cork City in the FAI Cup final the following day and another footy game you might have seen or heard about just 48 hours ago.
The Republic of Ireland will look to make the most of that 2-0 defeat of Portugal when they face Hungary tomorrow. Our soccer correspondent John Fallon is in Budapest and already firing out the good stuff.
But it’s rugby here again for the next three hours or so. I’m Brendan O’Brien and I’ll be updating this liveblog for the duration. Simon Lewis is sitting here beside me sharpening his pencil and we’ll have a full-time match report, reaction, player ratings and another of our cosy pods coming here on irishexaminer.com on the back of this latest Test match.
Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening!
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