Player ratings: Clean sweep
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Ireland have defeated two Southern Hemisphere giants in their year-end tour with a tight 26-23 victory over the Wallabies on Saturday.
The Irish started the brightest with 17 points being scored against the Wallabies before they had a chance to answer.
However, the Wallabies managed to claw their way back and make it an even game at half time with the teams deadlocked at 10 points each.
The second half was far tighter as the teams looked to outsmart each other.
A couple penalties were treaded but in the end, it was just enough for the Irish to hold on for a three-point victory.
We rate the Irish.
15 Rob Kearney
Great classical fullback play, his chips, runs and kicking were all spot on and he looked a real threat.
8/10
14 Tommy Bowe
A brilliant intercept when it looked as if Australia were bound to score and he made most of his few chances.
7/10
13 Robbie Henshaw
He was another one who was happy to carry the ball up and got though a decent amount of metres.
7/10
12 Gordon D'Arcy
Looked to run the ball when ever he could but did not make the meters you would hope in an open game.
6/10
11 Simon Zebo
His attacking vision was spot on, he really looked dangerous in one-on-one situations.
8/10
10 Jonathan Sexton
Incredible vision from the world player of the year nominee that set Zebo up for his try – his positioning was also spot on.
9/10
9 Conor Murray
Put up a number of very contestable box kicks that kept the Wallabies on their toes throughout – but not much else.
6/10
8 Jamie Heaslip
A bit of a quiet game, made a few decent runs but could have put his effort in defensively
6/10
7 Rhys Ruddock
a real hard grafter for the Irish, seemed to be involved in all of the rougher stuff.
7/10
6 Peter O'Mahony
Worked hard towards the ball on the ground and was busy in defence.
7/10
5 Paul O'Connell (captain)
Worked well in the set pieces and was happy to put in his tackles – an inspirational performance from a passionate captain.
8/10
4 Devin Toner
Another one who was happy to go about his business in the tighter stuff and in the tackles.
7/10
3 Mike Ross
Was barley mentioned other than in the scrums – but he was decent there.
5/10
2 Rory Best
Was heavily involved when it came to keeping the Wallabies back as he racked up the tackles.
7/10
1 Jack McGrath
Scrummed well but did not help his burgeoning reputation as an active and exciting prop in open play.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Sean Cronin (on for Best, 67 mins)
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Dave Kilcoyne
Not used.
18 Rodney Ah You
Not used.
19 Dave Foley (on for Toner, 61 mins)
Really did not have much of an impact when coming on for such a hard worker.
4/10
20 Tommy O'Donnell
Not used.
21 Eoin Reddan (On for Sexton, 77 mins)
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Ian Madigan (on for D'Arcy, 58 mins)
Did not do much at all in the centres as things got tighter,
4/10
23 Felix Jones (on for Kearney, 77 mins)
Not enough time to be rated.
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