Australia used an early scoring spree to keep momentum on their side as they took a 56-46 win over Ireland in this year’s International Rules Test at Perth’s Paterson Stadium in Western Australia last night.
The concept is a hybrid of Australian rules football and Gaelic football and sees the two nations play each other in the unique sport once a year.
Having been criticized for fielding a lackluster lineup in the past, leading to convincing wins to Ireland in the past few years, this time Australia’s teamsheet was star-studded, and it showed.
Australia dominated the opening plays, showing accuracy with the round ball by kicking plenty of three-pointers over the crossbar — with four from the boot of Steve Johnson and three from Nick Riewoldt in the first half — to build up a solid lead.
Ireland captain Michael Murphy kicked his side’s first three-pointer toward the end of the first quarter to make the score 22-4 to Australia at the first break.
A goal by Darren Hughes early in the second half gave Ireland heart, but they still faced a tough task catching Australia.
However, the momentum soon swung to the visitors and the home side’s scoring slowed as Ireland turned on the heat in the field.
Australia goalkeeper Dustin Fletcher made a save late in the game only for the ball to rebound off an Australia player to give Ireland a goal and take them to within 10 points.
However, Australia steadied the ship and held on to take the Cormac McAnallen Cup for the first time since 2011.
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