What: Ireland v Australia
When: Sunday, November 23 – 3:30am (AEDT)
Where: Lansdowne Road.
I can view it on: Fox Sports/Channel 10
What did they do last time?
Ireland backed up their 29-15 victory over South Africa a fortnight ago with a 49-7 thumping of that great rugby powerhouse Georgia.
The Wallabies suffered their first loss of the spring tour and first under new coach Michael Cheika, going down to France 29-26 in Paris.
Things you need to know
Ireland have suffered a blow with New Zealand-born centre Jared Payne ruled out with a foot sprain. Gordon D'Arcy starts at 12 with Robbie Henshaw shifting to outside-centre. Rory Best is battling an injury but returns to the starting side in the only change to the pack that beat South Africa. The Six Nations champs have risen to third on the IRB rankings, one spot above Australia, on the back of six straight wins. Their 14-point disposal of the Springboks two weeks ago put rivals on notice 10 months out from the World Cup.
Reason to watch:
Coach Cheika hates losing and his players have suffered on the training paddock this week after the disappointing defeat to France. How they respond against a quality Ireland side will tell us a lot about how the Wallabies are travelling and what they can realistically achieve under Cheika.
Reason to turn away:
Izzy Folau dropped the first high ball of his life against Les Bleus. If that happens again this week you'll know the Wallabies are in for another long afternoon.
Say what?
"I think it's a distraction. We can't win anything by saying we're third in the world. I can't say it's something we'd be talking about or even aware of," – Ireland coach Joe Schmidt on his side's rise to third on the IRB rankings.
"Headed by Paul O'Connell, they're pretty crafty and old school. There are ways you can go about it, you don't have to give away penalties. We'll mix things up and we have to be smart about it," - Wallabies lock Rob Simmons on the challenge of facing the Ireland pack.
Final instructions
Ewen McKenzie's team overcame the drama of the now infamous 'Dublin Six' incident to beat Ireland 32-15 last November but the hosts are a different proposition 12 months on. The Wallabies forwards failed to get over the gain line against France and will need to be a lot better against the wily Ireland pack to have any chance of winning. It might also be an idea to pass the ball to the likes of Tevita Kuridrani and Israel Folau, who hardly saw the ball last week. The Wallabies haven't lost two consecutive Tests on a spring tour since 2005 and we think they'll continue that streak this weekend. Coach Cheika's inside knowledge of his former Leinster players is an advantage for the tourists and we think they'll respond to a tough week of training with a narrow win. Wallabies by five.
Teams
Ireland: 15. Rob Kearney, 14. Tommy Bowe, 13. Robbie Henshaw, 12. Gordon D'Arcy, 11. Simon Zebo, 10. Jonathan Sexton, 9. Conor Murray, 8. Jamie Heaslip, 7. Rhys Ruddock, 6. Peter O'Mahony, 5. Paul O'Connell, 4. Devin Toner, 3. Mike Ross, 2. Rory Best, 1. Jack McGrath.
Reserves: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Dave Foley, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Felix Jones.
Wallabies: 1. James Slipper, 2. Saia Fainga'a, 3. Sekope Kepu, 4. Sam Carter, 5. Rob Simmons, 6. Luke Jones, 7. Michael Hooper, 8. Ben McCalman, 9. Nick Phipps, 10. Bernard Foley, 11. Henry Speight, 12. Matt Toomua, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 15. Israel Folau.
Reserves: James Hanson, Benn Robinson, Tetera Faulkner, Will Skelton, Jake Schatz, Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale.