O’MAHONY OUT TO END 39-YEAR WAIT BY CRUSHING AUSSIES
IRELAND captain Peter O’Mahony reckons a series win in Australia would rank alongside his team’s Grand Slam success. The Six Nations champions’ 26-21 victory in Melbourne last weekend set up a winner-takesall finale against the Wallabies in Sydney today. Hooker Sean Cronin missed training on the eve of the game with Munster’s Niall Scannell on standby. Cronin’s inclusion is one of five changes from head coach Joe Schmidt, who has brought in Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale, Jack Conan and Jack McGrath, with Leinster fly-half Ross Byrne primed for his international debut off the bench. It is the final game of a hugely successful season for Schmidt’s team and O’Mahony says his players are ready to end a 39-year wait for a series win over one of the southern hemisphere’s big three. ‘It has to be right up there,’ he said of the task at hand. ‘None of this group has done it. The last time we won a Test here (before last weekend) was 1979, so that says enough of how hard it is to win over here. ‘If we don’t put in a good performance, we could be well beaten by 30 or 40 points if we’re not on the ball. ‘There is that fear factor for us that if you’re not good, they could put a lot of points on us.’ Schmidt said on Thursday that his team would need their best performance of the season to emerge triumphant, and O’Mahony echoed that view. ‘We need to build on last week, and that’s the main priority for us,’ he said. ‘There were things we did a lot better last week that are going to have to step up again this week because we know how proud Australia are.’
IRELAND: Kearney; Earls, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Sexton, Murray; Furlong, Cronin, McGrath; James Ryan, Toner; Stander, Conan, O’Mahony (c).
Subs: Scannell, Healy, John Ryan, Beirne, Murphy, Marmion, Byrne, Larmour. AUSTRALIA: Folau; Haylett-Petty, Kerevi, Beale, Koroibete; Foley, Phipps; Kepu, Paenga-Amosa, Sio; Coleman, Rodda; Tui, Pocock, Hooper (c).
Subs: Latu, Robertson, Tupou, Simmons, Hanigan, Samu, Powell, Hodge.
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (Fra). TV: LIVE on Sky Sports Main Event 10.30am.