Oz pluck versus Irish luck

21 November 2014 - 02:20 By Liam del Carme
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Springbok scrumhalf Francois Hougaard can't stop a determined Adam Ashley-Cooper of the Wallabies from scoring a try in yesterday's Rugby Championship match at Newlands .
Springbok scrumhalf Francois Hougaard can't stop a determined Adam Ashley-Cooper of the Wallabies from scoring a try in yesterday's Rugby Championship match at Newlands .
Image: GETTY IMAGES

They've got history and their lively and enduring rivalry will remain relevant well after kick-off in Dublin tomorrow.

Ireland, for once, will start favourites, but history favours the Wallabies, in no small part due to their last-gasp ability to break fervent Irish spirit.

Ireland are formidable now that Kiwi-born coach Joe Schmidt is at the helm. He saw his team run the All Blacks desperately close last year, go on to win the Six Nations and beat the Springboks less than a fortnight ago.

He will be well aware that in their last six Tests the Wallabies have won three, Ireland two, and one was drawn.

  • Also this weekend Wales will do everything to spoil Richie McCaw's 100th Test as All Blacks captain in their clash in Cardiff.

The last time they beat the All Blacks, Sir Edmund Hillary was still basking in the glow of being the first man to climb Everest - in 1953.

Wales, when confronted with southern hemisphere opposition, remain eternal optimists. Under Warren Gatland they have lost the last 21 games against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, yet they take Wile E Coyote's cheery optimism into every contest.

France and Argentina have engaged in some robust forward debate and the tradition is likely to continue in Paris tomorrow night.

The French scrum was up and down against the Wallabies and they are likely to be drawn into a contest tomorrow night that requires trench coats and wellies over anything resembling haute couture.

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