RUGBY
Beirne makes international bow on famous day for Irish rugby
By Daire Walsh
IRELAND set up a series decider at the Allianz Stadium next weekend with an impressive 26-21 victory over Australia in the second summer test between the two nations on Saturday.
Following a disappointing 9-18 reversal in Suncorp Stadium seven days earlier, Ireland desperately needed a win to keep their hopes alive for the final game of the tour. With Peter O’Mahony brilliantly leading their charge at blindside flanker, ably-assisted by Jonathan Sexton and James Ryan, they managed to do just that.
In addition to Athy’s Joey Carbery picking up his 12th cap at international level, it also proved to be an unforgettable night for Eadestown man Tadhg Beirne. The towering 26-year-old was handed his senior international debut in the final-quarter of a gruelling contest – deputising for his future provincial compatriot, O’Mahony.
After an excellent two-year stint with Scarlets (where his versatility and ball-carrying ability came to the fore on several occasions), Beirne will hope that this is the first of many appearances in the green jersey.
During his time as Ireland coach, Joe Schmidt has never been shy about making surprise selections in his match day squad. His 57th game as international supremo was no different, as he threw a few interesting curve balls for their Melbourne showdown with the Wallabies.
Despite taking the Six Nations Championship by storm, Jacob Stockdale made way for Munster’s Andrew Conway in an indirect swap. Garry Ringrose replaced Bundee Aki to form an all-Leinster midfield with Robbie Henshaw, while Sexton was restored in place of Carbery’s at out-half.
As expected, a whole new front-row was selected for this contest, though it was Niall Scannell who led from the front rather than Sean Cronin. With Ulster hooker Rob Herring performing admirably in the first test, the Limerick native found themselves outside of the 23.
Elsewhere, Devin Toner and Dan Leavy also returned, and there was a spot on the bench for scrum-half John Cooney.
Ireland did leak a try to Kurtley Beale in the opening stages of the action, before settling with the help of a five-pointer by Andrew Conway and some reliable place-kicking from Sexton.
Nevertheless, the Irish lead was cut down to two points (16-14) in time for the interval, leaving the outcome very much up in the air on the resumption.
A converted Tadhg Furlong score looked set to ease Ireland home, until Taniela Tupou crossed over to leave the passionate away supporters on tenterhooks. However, with Beirne and Carbery playing their part off the bench, they ultimately defeated Australia for the third time under Schmidt’s tenure.
Meanwhile, Naas’ Jordan Duggan featured for the Ireland U20s in their World Rugby Championship play-off triumph against Japan in Béziers on Sunday. A succession of reversals in the tournament had left Noel McNamara’s side on the brink of relegation to next year’s World Trophy competition.
A late Japanese surge placed them under pressure, but Ireland ultimately prevailed with six points to spare (39-33).