Wallabies ready to face Ireland
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The Wallabies are motivated to finish their year on a high as they face a fierce Irish opposition on Sunday (AEDT) to finish the season.
Ireland looms as the toughest of the four ‘Home Nations’ in their Grand Slam tour, who sit third on the World Rankings.
They started the end-of-season tour as the world’s top-ranked side following a win over South Africa, before dropping two places thanks to a defeat to New Zealand.
Joe Schmidt’s side are coming off a tough defeat to Scotland, ending their hopes of completing the Grand Slam for the first time in 39 years.
“It’s a massive game for us. We believe we're improving and we were probably pretty disappointed with the game over the weekend,” scrum half Jake Gordon told reporters.
“I wouldn't say we went backwards but definitely weren't where we thought we needed to be for that game and we really want to finish this tour well.
“We see this as a great opportunity this weekend against a really strong Irish team to play some really good rugby and we're excited for the occasion. 150 years of Ireland rugby (celebrations), we know it's going to be a massive spectacle and event there and we can't wait for the atmosphere.”
Gordon lamented the lack of discipline during the 14-point defeat, in which the Australians missed 34 tackles and conceded 14 penalties.
“Our discipline was off. We let in far too many penalties, especially on the defensive side of the game and couldn't really get our attack going,” he notes.
“We attacked well in the first 15-20 minutes but then got starved of possession and had some misses in defence, compounded with some poor decision-making which led to them getting access into our 22 and they took opportunities in that second half.
“I think it was more just like a work rate thing and whether we're just seeing the game at the same speed as a unit,” prop Isaac Kailea suggested.
“Classy sides like that, you give them an opening and they'll take it like Scotland did.
“So I think that's something we'll focus on for next week is just everyone being on the same page and not letting a side like Scotland and Ireland coming up next any opportunities like that.”
