Australia’s Isaac Kailea preparing for battle against ‘classy’ Irish pack
As his side prepare to do battle with them at the Aviva Stadium this weekend, Australian prop Isaac Kailea has hailed the Irish pack as one of the best in world rugby at the moment.
Of both Tongan and Chilean descent, Kailea made his international debut for Australia in the first Test that Wales played on their Tour of the southern hemisphere nation back on July 6 of this year – the Wallabies emerging victorious on a score of 25-16 at Sydney Football Stadium.
That game was also Joe Schmidt’s first as head coach of Australia and recent Waratahs recruit Kailea has gone on to play in six of the 11 tests that the former Leinster and Ireland supremo has been in charge of since then.
It remains to be seen if he will be named in the match day 23 for Saturday’s 150th anniversary bout in the Aviva, but having come up against a number of Tier One outfits since breaking into the Wallabies fold, Kailea believes the Irish forwards are amongst the most formidable on the international stage.
“I think there’s a reason they’re probably one of the top-ranked teams in the world, their forward pack is real classy. When they’re close to the line they can maul it. They’ve got a couple of different options around the maul, the line-out and then their scrum is very powerful. Probably up there with some of the best in the world,” Kailea explained at a press conference in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Booterstown yesterday.
Considering he spent nine years in Ireland as an elite level coach with either Leinster or Ireland – bringing considerable success to both teams – Saturday’s game could be an emotionally charged one for Schmidt as he locks horns with Andy Farrell, who succeeded the New Zealander at the Irish helm in the winter of 2019.
Yet while he and his international colleagues are fully aware of how significant it is for Schmidt to be back in this part of the world, Kailea is placing a greater emphasis on what the game will mean from the perspective of Australian rugby.
Having kick-started the current international window with an epic 42-37 triumph over England in Twickenham – before following it up with a convincing victory against Wales – the Wallabies will be eager to bounce back from a 27-13 defeat at the hands of Scotland in Murrayfield Stadium last Sunday and end their latest European tour on a high.
“I think we’ve been focusing more on ourselves, considering it is the last game of the tour for us. I think we want to put a good performance out there for our fans back home. If we can finish the tour on a high I think we’ll be real happy with that,” Kailea added.
“Twickenham, when we were in Cardiff and then last week in Murrayfield, each atmosphere has been insane. If we can repeat that here in the Aviva, that would be quite special, but I’ve liked every game and every stadium has been quite special.”