Down Under Thriller

Ireland will face Australia in this years Rugby World Cup for the third time in the competitions history.  At the 2003 event, hosted by Australia, Ireland headed to Melbourne where the previous evening the Irish team had beaten the Australians in the International Rules Series.  Would this be an omen for the following nights Titanic game between the same two nations.

Keith Wood moves George Gregan aside

Australia in all fairness to them were the best team at the tournament alongside England but somebody forgot to tell us that as the Irish team put the Australians under sever pressure for the full 80 minutes.  Brian O'Driscoll even knocked over a drop goal to go with his try to move us to within a point of the Aussies with 13 minutes remaining.  David Humphreys, on as a replacement for Ronan O'Gara, came within a whisker of giving us the lead and most probably the win as his drop goal at the death sailed just inches wide.  

My friend Conor was part of the crowd that night and said it was one hell of an atmosphere in the stadium from start to finish, if only the goalposts were a few inches wider it could have been one of the upsets of the 2003 tournament.  Our World Cup history hasn't been great since that night but hopefully all that will change come September of this year!!