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Video: Ireland cap stunning season with series win over Wallabies

By Ben Spratt
CJ Stander battles through for Ireland

Ireland completed an outstanding 2017-18 season with a series win in Australia, edging the third and final Test 20-16 at Allianz Stadium.

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Joe Schmidt’s side claimed a Six Nations Grand Slam earlier this year, with their only defeat of the campaign coming in the opening match of this tour.

And Ireland turned the series on its head with victory in Sydney on Saturday, as they followed up a first away win over the Wallabies since 1979 by scraping through a tough contest decided again by the influential boot of Johnny Sexton.

Captains Michael Hooper and Peter O’Mahony were both injured in a scrappy first half that included two yellow cards, but the 15 points secured by Sexton either side of tries from CJ Stander and Marika Koroibete proved crucial.

A blood-and-thunder start saw Sexton, the match-winner in Melbourne, and Bernard Foley kick the first points at either end, before Australia lost Hooper to injury.

David Pocock, Hooper’s back-row partner, continued to keep Ireland at bay and the visitors were dealt a blow of their own when Jacob Stockdale was sent to the sin bin after a TMO review, having shoved his forearm into Nick Phipps’ neck.

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Foley dispatched the consequent penalty, yet it was Schmidt’s men who piled on the pressure in Stockdale’s absence – roared forward by the travelling support – and Sexton’s kick levelled the match again.

A Wallabies yellow card followed when Israel Folau tugged O’Mahony down in the air – forcing the Ireland skipper out of the game, too – and Sexton’s boot delivered another three points when an offside player prevented a try shortly afterwards.

Two more penalties were traded in the first half, before the visitors’ momentum finally produced a try shortly after the restart. Stander got the ball down as Ireland surged over from a lineout.

Australia belatedly pushed for a try of their own and it swiftly arrived as Foley threaded a grubber kick through for Koroibete to muscle his way across the line.

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The Wallabies then enjoyed an extended spell of pressure as they looked to overturn a one-point deficit, but Ireland held firm and Sexton put away another penalty to force the hosts to chase a try in the final 60 seconds.

One last attack ended with Foley passing the ball out of play and, after a tense wait for a verdict on a possible Stockdale knock-on, the visiting players could celebrate a famous win.

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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