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Rugby

2024 Autumn Nations Series: Ireland v Wallabies: The Irish race back to still stand tall after their 3-point win in Dublin

by Sports Benches

The final International Rugby match of 2024 is now over at the hands of Ireland, who defeated the Wallabies by a three point gap win in front of a brilliant crowd at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, 22-19. 

Hats off to Ireland on what it takes to still be the World’s No.1 ranked team, having successfully played catch up after the half break where it was enough to see them out at full-time. We will see more from a few of their best players for the our Lions Tour in July-August 2025 – bring it on.

Meanwhile, love their good start by the Wallabies when they were in a good position earlier on by eight (5-13). But their inability to make some quick decisions really cost them dearly even if it’s by little. Keep working at it & sure there will be more glorious days again soon enough at the earliest with Joe Schmidt.

Now that we’ve hit December 1 from our end to start the long three-month summer, there’s Test Cricket v India with the five-test series trophy at the moment for the next few weeks going into the 2nd Test for the Day/Nighter at Adelaide Oval starting Friday, then come January it’s the three-week long Australian Open Tennis from Melbourne Park.

Can’t wait for that as Rugby will be back at our shores starting with the 11-team Super Rugby season for 2025 (it’s been 30 years now) will start a bit earlier than usual from Feb-June for 16 rounds with two byes – plus there’s a new-look six team Playoffs series before the home Lions tour plus Rugby Championship, Bledisloe Cup and many more!

Enjoy the rest of your summer and short off-season!

Great to see two of the Irish best loose forwards on show who are both muscular, has lots of experience between them and top-notch powerful to grind no matter how you want it & when you want it. All you have to do is ask them to join for a test drive and they’ll show you how it’s done – even if it’s the toughest on all conditions.

Here comes Josh Van Der Flier on the open flank 7 & Captain Caelan Doris at 8. 

They proved to be a massive difference from turning the tide, particularly in the 2nd following the Wallabies’ excellent start, to capping off an unreal win against an improved team under someone they know well before in Joe Schmidt. Now that means business as Ireland continues to keep their spot as their No.1 ranked team.

And it was a close loss from the Wallabies when they need to make quick and clear decisions right from the word go – despite their brilliant start but they’re getting there thanks to Joseph Suaalii (outside 13).

He could’ve won that game had Taniela Tupou been able to pass the ball on time – c’mon Nella, you should be better than that but one of our best tight props also. 

Bring on Joseph in a Tahs shirt now because he loves challenges & has done so much with the Sydney Roosters in NRL.

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Rugby

All Blacks two-week tour of England and Ireland 2024 Review: They are still on song over both of the North’s best teams lately

by Sports Benches

Yes, going to Europe this year for the All Blacks may not be without any challenges, with unfinished business ahead in this Spring Tour. But so far, so good though with not one but two wins off the trot. 

One was a close win last weekend v England (22-24) at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium’s when the home reserve 23 couldn’t get it converted via the post that hit the bar, and now the ABs notched a huge win over Ireland (13-23) earlier this morning – both on their respective opposition teams’ home fortresses. 

At one point, the lead did belong to the English and later the Irish thanks to their own good headstarts ahead of the ABs, particularly earlier in the 2nd half that sent a strong message to the ABs that their good times may well be over by the North.

But at the end of the day, we all want to see a stunning contest of rugby and yet they’ve delivered both times with a phenomenal fightback, and they’re not done yet with their fight back towards being the world’s best ranked rugby team. 

They have France to play for next weekend in Paris – which isn’t going to be an easy run much like their recent games – before the ABs will finish their year in in two weeks from now at a different Allianz Stadium this time v Italy in Torino – who currently hosts the home games for Serie A side Juventus FC in Soccer/Football.

There’s no need for an introduction there in none other than outstanding All Blacks and Crusaders full-back Will Jordan, who never disappoints while he keeps on scoring a TRY or two per game. Every time someone is looking out for numbers, he puts his hand, always knows what to do it & answers this with perfection – simply a world-class player both physically and mentally. He could even dominate in any other contest Will wishes to play as well.

The next best consistent ABs star is Wallace Sititi on the blindside 6 from the Chiefs & gotta say he’s been delivering the goods that coach Scott Robertson is putting faith in him so far. Not only he’s  sound in defense, he’s also paramount when it comes to these offloads & through tackle busts – especially via the counter-which suits his game so perfectly. Again, he’s a superstar in the making now in Europe off the back of his break in 2024.

He and Will have been ticking off winning games as of late based on their consistency, the work isn’t done yet for the ABs to be on top of the world once again. 

Meanwhile, the best Irish player on show belongs to Bundee Aki on the inside midfield pack at No.12 – he’s also originally from NZ too just like a bunch of other adopted Internationals. He did a brilliant job covering & clearing up in defense in the way he offers through all areas in attack as if he’s thrown into an arm wrestling contest with loads of experience. It’s just a shame that his team fell off the rails later on like being a touch isolated while being scrappy with the ball.

And the one English player the Wallabies need to watch out for is Marcus Smith at 10. He’s the one who usually loves to convert kicks inside the posts in any kind from penalty goals, conversion goals off tries & even drop goals – he should’ve been kept through the end anyway. Is there more he can do? Yes, he’s also quick on the counter like that intercept TRY last weekend and as long he continues to find support, then he will no doubt guide England home like it was before.

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Other Sports

Favourites & Unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen finally knocked down by Atalanta BC thanks to Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick with the Europa League Final victory at Aviva Stadium

by Sports Benches

We thought this was Bayer Levekusen’s game to win for yet another time having been unbeaten for so long after their outstanding Bundesliga season without losing a game (a draw doesn’t count) with the title, but unfortunately their series of hit and misses allowed Ademola Lookman to caplitalise on his unbelievable hat-trick for Atalanta BC whose Italian side was just being crowned the champions of the Europa League at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The final score was 3-0 after 90 mins.

Gotta feel sorry for the Levekusen fans who saw these dreams turn into reality when you got former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso at the helm as head coach and thought a series of changes later on with a deeper squad would turn things around like it was before. We just didn’t see this happening despite having the most possession as they failed to make the most out of their conversions at least inside the penalty box and instead had balls flying everywhere which didn’t work. There’s no way they can drop out from the Champions League to the Europa League again from now on since the competition format is gonna change going into next season as his next chance would have to wait at another time with Levekusen or another club.

And for Atalanta BC, every time they had the ball they absolutely controlled well whenever they had it to steer clear of the Levekusen defenders thanks to Teun Koopmeiners and their front three before Lookman got the job done from the left wing and voila – back-to-back goals earlier in the first-half plus a 3rd strike later in the last 45 mins from someone who hails from England, played in the Premier League and is a Nigerian International through his parents’ heritage. Hats off to him who made his team’s supporters night something special to cheer about wherever they are including his team-mates and of course, the head coach Gian Piero Gasperini who has never won a major trophy before until now with this one at age 66 – how good!!

We had first-time Europa League winning coaches in the last few editions like 46-year-old Oliver Glasner (now Crystal Palace coach) for Einchart Frankfurt back in 2022 v Rangers and also 61-year-old Jose Luis Mendilibar (now Olympiacos coach who is in the running for next week’s Conference League Final v Fiorentina) last year for Sevilla v AS Roma & sure we’ll see many more to come after Gasperini. Both winners have already qualified for the Champions League next season with Levekusen via their championship league position in the Bundesliga & Atalanta either way with the Europa win tonight (now guaranteed) and the extra league position for the Serie A in 5th (which will then hand over the extra winning Europa to Champions League slot to the 6th-placed side) with two games to spare against Torino and Fiorentina. So that’s it from Aviva Stadium on what has been a cracking game where the top ranked team was crushed by the Italian Atalanta side as can’t wait for the Conference League Final (next Thursday morning) and Champions League Final (next Sunday morning on June 2) throughout next week.

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Rugby

Ireland vs. Australia Rugby analysis as hosts win tightly-fought game over Wallabies.

by Admin

• Match: Ireland v Australia
• Series: Autumn International/Autumn Nations Series
• Venue​​: Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland
• Time ​: Sunday, 20th Nov. 2022 (7 AM Australian Eastern Daylight time)/Saturday, 19th Nov. 2022 (8 PM local time)

Points Summary

IrelandAustralia
Bundee Aki 66′TriesJordan Petaia 70′
Jack Crowley 67′ConversionsBernard Foley 71′
Jack Crowley 9′
Ross Byrne 75′		Penalty GoalsBernard Foley 55′
Yellow CardsFolau Faingaa’ 36′

• The Aviva Stadium in Dublin bore witness to a test match between Ireland and Australia that would best be described as a ‘slog’. With just 23 points scored in the entire game, the two sides played out a gripping, but not particularly pretty encounter, which was won late on from the boot of Ross Byrne, who was drafted in to the Ireland squad just minutes ahead of kick-off.

• Going for a third victory out of three against the Southern Hemisphere’s traditional rugby playing powers, Ireland were dealt a blow before a ball had been kicked, with their captain and World Rugby player of the year nominee Johnny Sexton ruled out, having picked up a calf injury in the warm-up. 22-year-old Jack Crowley came into the XV to make his first start, and kicked a 10th minute penalty to get Ireland on the board.

• Australia thought they had opened the scoring even earlier though, after Nic White darted from dummy half to ground the ball after just four minutes. However, play was brought back for an Irish penalty, after the TMO spotted an illegal neck roll by Australia in the preceding ruck. That was to begin a half of missed opportunities for Australia, who spent plenty of time entrenched in Ireland’s 22, but finished the first 40 minutes scoreless, and trailing 3-0.

• The try-scoring action finally began in the last quarter of an hour, after replacement centre Bundee Aki crashed over from close range following a sustained spell of pressure on the Australian line. Ireland thought that might seal the game, but the Wallabies hit straight back as their back-line clicked into gear, allowing Jordan Petaia to scythe through the cover defence and skid into score in the corner. With both of these tries converted, the game was again level heading into the final moments.

• Those two five-pointers were as good as it got on the try-scoring front though, with the game soon returning to a slow-moving battle of inches as the two sets of players fought for control. Ireland gained a late penalty, and Ross Byrne, drafted in at the 11th hour to cover for Crowley on the bench, notched a sideline penalty to re-take a three-point lead for Ireland, and the hosts saw out the remaining four minutes to seal a momentous victory in Dublin.

Match Preview

• The Australian team showed a good aggressive style of play in the both half of the game. But no matter how hard Australia tried, they couldn’t score much points. Tried several times to score tries, but they managed to score only one try.

• In the first half, the Irish team was leading by 3:0. In the 2nd Half Australia started to pile on the points but with Bundee Aki’s try and couple of penalty goals won the match for Ireland.

Wounded Wallabies must find way to win

• Australia have now lost three of the four games they’ve played in the Northern Hemisphere this autumn, and this is the first one that has been settled by more than a single point

• Australia have one more chance to win a match in 2022, as they head to Wales next weekend, but with France 2023 nearing ever closer, the Wallabies must find a way to see off a game that hangs in the balance, particularly when the chips are down and the stakes are high.

Dour victory won’t hamper Irish spirit

• The best teams know how to win, be it with flashy moves to score bucket-loads of points, or by grinding out every possible point to suffocate their opposition into submission.

• Winning ugly is certainly one way to prepare for the latter stages of a World Cup, and with their 2022 campaign done and dusted, Ireland will now set their sights on the 2023 edition in France.

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