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Ireland leave it late to sneak past former boss Joe Schmidt
By PA
Ireland boss Andy Farrell signed off before his British and Irish Lions sabbatical in victorious fashion thanks to a nervy 22-19 comeback win over Joe Schmidt’s Australia in Dublin.
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Gus McCarthy’s late try helped the hosts narrowly come out on top against former head coach Schmidt in an engrossing encounter marking the 150th anniversary of Irish rugby.
Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris also crossed for Ireland on a landmark afternoon when Cian Healy moved ahead of Brian O’Driscoll as the country’s outright most-capped player.
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Australia threatened to spoil the party and led for the majority of the match thanks to Max Jorgensen’s score and four penalties and a conversion from fly-half Noah Lolesio.
But replacement hooker McCarthy touched down in the 73rd minute to ensure Ireland end an inconsistent autumn with three wins from four, as Farrell hands the reins to defence coach Simon Easterby in order to prepare for next summer’s Lions tour against Schmidt’s Wallabies.
Englishman Farrell challenged his players to produce their best performance of the month after they bounced back from defeat to New Zealand by beating Argentina and Fiji.
The Six Nations champions, wearing one-off jerseys to commemorate the milestone match, almost made a blistering start but Hugo Keenan’s early burst was halted just shy of the try line.
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Wallabies fly-half Lolesio then slotted a 10th-minute penalty to put the visitors ahead after Joe McCarthy was punished for making head contact with Rob Valetini.
Schmidt was part of the New Zealand coaching team which orchestrated Ireland’s agonising quarter-final exit at last year’s World Cup.
His side stretched their lead in the 19th minute when Jorgensen dived over in the left corner, moments after Sam Prendergast denied Andrew Kellaway a certain try on the opposite flank.
Lolesio successfully added the extras to further subdue an expectant home support before Van der Flier’s third try this November halved the deficit, only for Prendergast to squander the conversion.
Ireland showed flashes of their free-flowing best but struggled to sustain it and looked susceptible defensively.
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Jamison Gibson-Park and Prendergast were forced to salvage the situation when Taniela Tupou intercepted a Doris pass to power clear after the alert Robbie Henshaw had earlier prevented Kellaway touching down.
Australia, who are in transition following last year’s dismal World Cup under Eddie Jones, had to settle for the consolation of another Lolesio penalty as they ended the half 13-5 in front.
Ireland returned to the field needing to significantly improve their execution.
A Prendergast penalty enhanced the look of the scoreboard and he then slotted a simple conversion to put the home side ahead for the first time after captain Doris exploited a gap to cross under the posts.
The turnaround briefly roused the capacity crowd but poor discipline – a theme of this campaign – again stifled Ireland’s progress as Lolesio landed two more penalties to give the initiative back to the Wallabies.
History-maker Healy, whose sons Beau and Russell were among the matchday mascots, came on for his 134th international appearance in the 67th minute, with O’Driscoll among those applauding from the stands.
The veteran prop looked in serious danger of his record-breaking appearance being ruined by defeat.
But fellow front-row replacement McCarthy saved the day seven minutes from time to deny Schmidt a winning return to Dublin, with Jack Crowley adding the extras.
