Ireland well beaten by Wallabies
Australia 37 Ireland 15
Ireland’s final match of their summer tour ended in defeat at the hands of Australia in Perth but the scoreline was a flattering one as the tourists gave a good account of themselves.
Ten minutes into the second half Eddie O’Sullivan’s men briefly led 15-11 but the hosts roared back with four tries to race ahead.
The Wallabies held an 11-3 interval lead after Chris Latham’s 20th-minute try followed Stirling Mortlock’s earlier penalty.
Ronan O’Gara pulled back three points with a kick from close range but Mortlock restored the advantage before the break with another penalty after the Irish were caught offside.
Two minutes after the interval O’Gara collected flanker David Wallace’s pass to charge over, although he subsequently missed the conversion to leave the score 11-8.
Neil Best then put Ireland ahead after a quick turnover and this time O’Gara made his kick.
That was the signal for Australia to up their game as their opponents began to tire, with Mark Gerrard, Greg Holmes, George Gregan and Cameron Shepherd all scoring tries with Mortlock adding another three conversions.
