Ireland edge Australia to complete 2022 Southern Hemisphere sweep

DUBLIN : A late Ross Byrne penalty handed Ireland a 13-10 win over Australia in a scrappy test on Saturday, weathering the late withdrawal of captain Johnny Sexton to complete a 2022 hat-trick of victories against the three Southern Hemisphere heavyweights.

Jack Crowley, Ireland's third choice flyhalf who made his debut off the bench against Fiji a week ago having only begun his professional career last year, notched the only points of a stop-start first half that ended with the hosts 3-0 up.

It took 56 minutes for the second score to arrive via the boot of Bernard Foley before Bundee Aki marked his return from an eight-week suspension with a try ten minutes later that was almost immediately cancelled out by Australia's Jordan Petaia.

Byrne, Ireland's forgotten man at 10, replaced Crowley late on and his brilliant, long range penalty meant Ireland equalled their all-time record of 12 successive home victories, even if the performance was possibly the least memorable of the lot.