Preview: Ireland eye winning finish against wounded Wallabies

Andy Farrell takes charge of Ireland for the 30th time on Saturday night as they bid to sign off on a groundbreaking year with a ninth win from 11 games.

Having already taken the scalps of world champions South Africa and New Zealand, Ireland can complete a clean sweep of victories over the three southern hemisphere heavyweights in the same calendar year for only the second time.

Farrell was part of Joe Schmidt's coaching ticket when Ireland first achieved that feat in 2016. Victory over the Wallabies will also see the Englishman equal the record of 12 home wins that was set by his predecessor.

Farrell admitted he was embarrassed about being nominated for world coach of the year earlier this week but it is just rewards for the 47-year-old, who has forged his own path since replacing Schmidt after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Hark back to when Farrell was at the beginning of his tenure and plaudits were few and far between. Ireland appeared to be stagnating, unable to compete with physically-superior sides like France and England, while Mike Catt was copping heat for a misfiring Irish attack.

Farrell lost five of his first 11 games in charge but since dominating England at an empty Aviva Stadium in the final game of the 2021 Six Nations, they have been on an upward curve. This year alone has seen them win a Triple Crown, rise to No 1 in the world on the back of a series win in New Zealand, before downing the world champions in Dublin earlier this month.

There remains a nervous energy among Irish rugby fans, who remember Ireland’s dominant 2018 was followed by a limp Rugby World Cup exit in Japan, but there appears to be no such concerns among the players about peaking a year too soon. They believe there is still plenty of room for