Dublin was always going to be rugby party central this Saturday.
The Wallabies hoped to arrive at the 150th birthday of the Irish Rugby Football Union with a chance to crown a rare Grand Slam tour.
Instead, the guest stars have to hope they don't become the party's sacrificial offerings.
The bubbly excitement generated by Australia's wins over England at Twickenham and Wales in Cardiff was spiked last weekend by a deflating loss to Scotland at Murrayfield.
The job of re-energizing the Wallabies' spirits this week has been led by coach Joe Schmidt, who hasn't tried to suppress his thrill at finding himself back in trainers and barking orders on an Irish rugby field for the first time since 2019.
That was when the New Zealander finished nine seasons of coaching in Ireland, earning a reverence for advancing the ambition and success of Leinster and the national team. He repaid the love by becoming a citizen. His devotion to detail and willingness to spread the rugby faith to all parts launched a new golden era for Irish rugby, the legacy of which is still flourishing.
Nine of Ireland's matchday 23 for Saturday's game were given their debuts by Schmidt. Coach Andy Farrell and defense coach Simon Easterby were his assistants. Backs coach Andrew Goodman played at Leinster for Schmidt. Forwards coach Paul O'Connell credits Schmidt for extending his playing career.
“(He) still has a bit of an influence over things we do in here and in terms of how we play the game,” O'Connell says.
Schmidt has crossed the Irish twice before. When they toured New Zealand in 2022, COVID-19 sidelined the All Blacks coaches before the first test so Schmidt, then a selector, stood in and led them to a 42-19 win at Eden Park. His assistant fingerprints were also on New Zealand's win over Ireland in the World Cup quarterfinals last year.
Schmidt kept a low media profile with the All Blacks but he hasn't had that luxury with the Wallabies. He's repaired them mentally and strategically after their World Cup debacle. He's also priming them for the tour next year by the British and Irish Lions, who will be steered by Farrell.
On the coming match in Dublin, Schmidt says, "There will be apprehension because I have that every week. I even have it before training; ‘Jeez, I hope we don’t break someone today, I hope the boys get some confidence and some rhythm here today.'
“So I try to be pretty transactional, pretty pragmatic on game day, but there'll be some emotion in it for me.”
After Scotland, Schmidt has upgraded the Wallabies with a fresh front row of Taniela Tupou, Brandon Paenga-Amosa and James Slipper, lock Jeremy Williams for the unavailable Will Skelton, flanker Fraser McReight and winger Max Jorgensen. Joseph Sua'ali'i has overcome a wrist injury to start and uncapped Waratahs flyhalf Tane Edmed is on the bench.
For Farrell's last Ireland game before his Lions sabbatical, he surprisingly stayed with Sam Prendergast as the starting flyhalf. Prendergast was solid in his first test start in the eight-try rout of Fiji last weekend, and fortunate a yellow card wasn't made a red for a shoulder shot.
New hooker Gus McCarthy and scrumhalf Craig Casey have also stuck. Farrell wants to see how they fare on a bigger occasion, against a bigger team, while surrounded by a better team. To that end, he's recalled Ronan Kelleher, James Ryan, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe and Hugo Keenan.
Farrell is hoping their best has been saved for last this month. From his team he wants, “Our best performance of the autumn and maybe more, hopefully.”
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Ireland's head coach Andy Farrell, centre, watches on layers warming up for the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Ireland and Argentina, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt speaks to his team before the Autumn Nations series rugby union match between Wales and Australia at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
