Although the Qantas Wallabies clash with Ireland is being played many thousands of miles away in Dublin such is the anticipation for Sunday’s (Monday morning 2AM AEDT) huge clash you can literally feel the tension building from here.
Not to put too much pressure on but in many ways this is a game that will decide the Wallabies season.
A win and the Wallabies are half way to recording an historic Grand Slam and even the most pessimistic of Wallabies’ supporters would give the Men of Gold a good chance of defeating Scotland the following weekend – meaning it would all come down to what would shape as a titanic clash with Wales in Cardiff.
Lose and the Grand Slam dream is gone and the Wallabies have very little to take from a season that at the start of the year promised so much.
And if that isn’t enough there is so many tantalizing features to this Test that it makes it absolutely compulsory viewing.
First there’s the Wallabies new captain, Rocky Elsom, returning to the place where he is regarded as a living legend after playing a major role in carrying Leinster to their first ever Heineken Cup crown earlier this year, playing alongside many of the players he will oppose this weekend.
Along the way Leinster even thrashed bitter rivals Munster (think the Reds vs the Waratahs times 10!) 25-6 which made the victory for the Dubliners even sweeter.
The attendance for that game was a mere 82,208, which (not surprisingly) set a new world record attendance for a club rugby union game.
Reports have flooded in from Dublin all week about “Rocky-mania” sweeping the Emerald Isle where the Australian backrower is something of a deity. The locals won’t know to cheer him or jeer him come kick-off.
Then there’s the Wallabies making their first ever appearance at the intimidating Croke Park, which the Irish Rugby Football Union has kindly been allowed to use for Rugby Tests while Lansdowne Road is being re-developed.
The fact that the Wallabies are playing at the historic ground is a miracle in itself.
Croke Park (Irish: Páirc an Chrócaigh) with a capacity of 82,300 is the largest sports stadium in Ireland and the fourth largest stadium in Europe.
It is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), and up until just a few year ago it was used exclusively for Gaelic sports, most notably the annual finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and Senior Hurling Championship.
It has special significance in Ireland as it in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence on November 21, it was the scene of a “Bloody Sunday” – a massacre by the Auxiliary Division of the British army, who shot into the crowd killing 14 during a Dublin-Tipperary gaelic football match.
The dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary's captain, Michael Hogan. The shootings were a reprisal for the assassination of 14 British Intelligence officers, known as the Cairo Gang, by Michael Collins's 'squad' earlier that day.
As you can imagine when England came to play there in the Six Nations in 2007 there was considerable trepidation as to what reaction would be to the singing of the British National Anthem.
But as is the norm with the impeccably behaved Irish crowds, the anthem was sung without interruption or incident, and applauded by both sets of supporters at the match, which Ireland won (fittingly you might say) by 43-13 (their largest ever win over England).
This is the history that the Wallabies step into this weekend and the young Men of Gold squad will need to strike a tricky balance between showing the proper respect and not being over-awed.
If that isn’t enough there is a Football World Cup qualifier being played at Croke Park on the Saturday between France v Ireland so the weekend’s sporting fixtures are enough to send even the most restrained Irishmen into a flag-waving frenzy.
And then to really put the icing on the cake the match will mark the 100th Test cap of another Dublin legend, the great Brian O’Driscoll, having played 93 Tests for Ireland and six for the British and Irish Lions.
It’s fair to say the motivation for the home team in this game will be somewhat intense.
As if they needed it. This already is one of the great Irish teams after earlier this year securing the Six Nations title with a clean sweep and picking up their own Grand Slam in the process, for the first time since 1948!
There is not just one but two British and Irish Lions captains in the squad in O’Driscoll and no-nonsense lock Paul O’Connell who led the Lions so admirably in South Africa this year.
There are Lions and Heieneken Cup champions right through the line up and so strong is Irish Rugby at present that O’Driscoll’s long time centre partner Gordon D’Arcy and veteran scrumhalf Peter Stringer can’t even make the 22.
In Australian context that’s like dropping George Gregan and Stirling Mortlock!
To make matters worse when the Wallabies last visited Dublin in 2006, Ireland romped to their biggest-ever win over Australia, a 21-6 thrashing, after the Wallabies spent virtually the entire match, played in unrelenting rain at Lansdowne Road, camped inside their own quarter desperately defending their line.
Current form doesn’t make any easier reading for Wallabies fans. Ireland comes into the first match of its November internationals undefeated in the last 12 months and its last eight Tests.
During this time, they have defeated Argentina, France, Italy, England, Scotland, Wales, Canada and the United States, with the last loss having been a 3-22 defeat by New Zealand at Croke Park on 15 November, 2008.
If the Wallabies are looking for omens that game falls exactly one year before the clash. Let’s hope that’s a good omen for the Men of Gold.
Australia last faced a Grand Slam champion on its Spring Tour last year, being denied an unbeaten run through Europe when beaten by the then reigning Six Nations title holders Wales,21-18 in Cardiff.
So its clear that the Wallabies face a huge challenge come the weekend.
But this young Men of Gold squad have also uncovered some talent of their own in scrumhalf Will Genia, flanker David Pocock and inside centre Quade Cooper – players who may go on to write their own legends in the Wallabies jersey.
After just one Test the midfield combination of Cooper and the unstoppable Digby Ioane are already being likened to another great Queensland-Australia combination – Jason Little and Tim Horan.
Ioane’s one on one clash with O’Driscoll, two of the most exciting runners in the game meeting head on, is enough to get the turnstiles humming and remote controls clicking.
Another boon for the visitors is more experienced Wallabies like fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper and prop Benn Robinson are in the best form of their careers, and on top of that you can be guaranteed captain Elsom will be desperate to win this one.
Difficult yes, impossible no. But if the Wallabies do win this one it will go down as one of their greatest ever Test victories, fitting of any Grand Slam.
Rugby fans are salivating at the prospect of this Test. It will be without doubt one of the games, events, of the year. Whatever you do don’t miss it.
The Qantas Wallabies team to play Ireland in the Lansdowne Cup Test at Croke Park, Dublin, on Sunday 15 November, 3pm kick off (2am, Mon 16 Nov, AEST), is:
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies), 14. Peter Hynes (Queensland Reds), 13. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds), 12. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds), 11. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs), 10. Matt Giteau (Brumbies), 9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds), 8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs), 7. David Pocock (Western Force), 6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain), 5. Mark Chisholm (Brumbies), 4. James Horwill (Queensland Reds), 3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies), 2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies), 1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs).
Run on reserves:
16. Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs), 17. Matt Dunning (Western Force), 18. Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs), 19. George Smith (Brumbies), 20. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs), 21. Ryan Cross (Western Force), 22. James O’Connor (Western Force).
Ireland
Rob Kearney; Tommy Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll (capt), Paddy Wallace, Luke Fitzgerald; Ronan O'Gara, Tomas O'Leary, Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris; Paul O'Connell, Donncha O'Callaghan; John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Tom Court, Leo Cullen, Denis Leamy, Eoin Reddan, Jonathan Sexton, Keith Earls
Date: Sunday, November 15
Kick-off: 15.00 GMT (Monday November 16th 2AM AEDT)
Venue: Croke Park, Dublin
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), Andrew Small (England)
Television match officials: Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia)
SPECIAL: 1984 Grand Slam Tour
Ireland v Wallabies Match Highlights - Watch Now
The Wallabies played their second Grand Slam Match of the Tour against the Irish. After an even exchange of penalty goals and field goals, the Wallabies eventually broke free to win 16-9
