Australian media reaction to defeat in Dublin: 'this is not acceptable' 

Joe Schmidt's side were well beaten at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.

HOECOMING: Australia's head coach Joe Schmidt speaks to the media after the game. Pic: INPHO/Nick Elliott

Mack Hansen was praised in TV commentary for his unorthodox 'Gaelic football-style' fielding early in his man-of-the-match performance against his native Australia.

And the Aussie media reckon the Wallabies could do well to borrow from other sports as they regroup after this bruising northern hemisphere tour.

"Throughout the first half, the Wallabies had been frustrated by their inability to execute attacks, with handling errors frequently stunting them," Ian Payten writes in the Brisbane Times. 

"Aerially, the Wallabies struggled too, unable to deal with Prendergast’s spiral kicks into the wet Dublin sky, with all of them slipping from their grasp. It was a throwback to Irish rugby strategy at its most traditional.

"Rugby Australia is next door to the Sydney Swans training facility, and booking a training session with the Australian Rules players in Moore Park needs to be on the priority list ahead of next season. Schmidt described the aerial contest in Dublin as a ‘mad scramble’."

The Wallabies were hit for six tries on a night in which Joe Schmidt's side experienced a slice of Murphy's Law in Dublin.

"It was that pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong," Peter Fitzsimons writes in The Age, "and nearly all of them were of the Wallabies’ making.

"Time and again, when we had a lineout in their quarter and were able to threaten for a try, Ireland stole the ball through the throw going amiss.

"Put simply, this is just not acceptable if we are to threaten for the World Cup in two years. (You heard me. Despite this result, it can be done. We have the talent and the will. It is the execution at key moments that is lacking.) 

"More frustrating was the Wallabies’ poor reception of the high ball, just as it had been against Italy. Whenever the Irish halfback Jamison Gibson-Park or their fly-half Sam Prendergast put it up, green jerseys poured through, and more often than not Harry Potter or Max Jorgensen found themselves isolated, hammered, and the ball was lost."

We may have hundred of words for rain, but Paul Cully in the Sydney Morning Herald explained the particular type of precipitation that came down in D4 on Saturday evening -- and how it played a role in the game.  

"Anyone who has been in Ireland from November until about March knows exactly what the conditions in Dublin are like: the rain surrounds you like a cloak.

"Those hard conditions made life miserable for the Wallabies’ back three under the high ball, especially when there was a bit of blustery wind in the mix as well. But in truth, the Wallabies’ outside backs have been in a state of flux since Tom Wright suffered a serious knee injury against the Springboks in Cape Town in August."

Looking ahead to another familiar face to Irish rugby fans, taking over from Joe Schmidt, he continues: "The recent losses – or more accurately the performances – have highlighted that incoming coach Les Kiss has a short runway to address the issues that still persist within Australian rugby before a home World Cup.

"As the year ends, it looks like opponents have worked out Joe Schmidt’s side – and he will have them for another three Tests before the awkward handover process is completed."