17 September 2011
Certainly the best match so far. Ireland will be very pleased after an intense win in front of proud Irish supporters. Australia will not be so pleased. They led once or twice early on and made no more points after that. It was disappointing from the Wallabies but Ireland proved there low ranking does not reflect the quality they play at. They are definitely a competitor for this trophy and will look to improve further in the coming games.
The first half was dull with the scores tied at 6-6 as the sides headed inside to prepare for what was to be a spectacular second half. O'Connor scored two penalties in the first half with Sexton also scoring one for Ireland. With Australia holding a three point lead, Sexton levelled the scores to 6-6 going into the break.
The second half was certainly a little more exciting but there were still no tries. Conor Murray almost scored but he was ruled offside by referee Bryce Lawrence after he touched it down. The moment of the half had to be Tommy Bowe's interception during a hard Australian attack in which they looked to score. In fact, the attempt was reminiscent of Chris Ashton's try against Australia last year when he ran the length of the pitch to score.
Before he left the field to make way for O'Gara, Sexton scored a final penalty to give Ireland a lead. When O'Gara was on the field he also scored two penalties.
The final score was 15-6 to Ireland and provides a promising start to the weekend for the other home nations that will be in action.
Match Info:
Location: Eden Park Stadium
Australia:
Tries: 0
Penalties: 2 (O'Connor both)
Drops: 0
Ireland:
Tries: 0
Penalties: 4 (Sexton 2 and O'Gara 2)
Drops: 1 (Sexton)
