| Home team | Australia |
| Away team | Ireland |
| Venue | Allianz Stadium |
| Competition | Rugby Nations Championship |
| Kick-off time | 11:10 (UK and Ireland) |
| Watch Live in the UK | ITV |
Australia vs Ireland preview as the sides meet at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
This game will be the first game ever for both sides in the Rugby Nations Championship.
Australia start their 2026 with a home World Cup in the picture next year. Their only win in the Autumn came against Japan, and they lost each of their final games in the Rugby Championship.
Ireland started the Six Nations with a loss to France and then went on to win the final four. A Thomas Ramos kick in the final moments for France cost them the title, but Ireland did win the Triple Crown
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Australia vs Ireland confirmed lineups
| Australia | Ireland | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Bell | 1 | O’Toole | |||
| Nasser | 2 | Sheehan | |||
| Alaalatoa | 3 | Furlong | |||
| Williams | 4 | McCarthy | |||
| Canham | 5 | Ryan | |||
| Valetini | 6 | C Prendergast | |||
| McReight | 7 | Van der Flier | |||
| Wilson | 8 | Conan | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Lonergan | 9 | Gibson-Park | |||
| Gordon | 10 | S Prendergast | |||
| Pietsch | 11 | Osborne | |||
| Ikitau | 12 | McCloskey | |||
| Suaalii | 13 | Ringrose | |||
| Jorgensen | 14 | Baloucoune | |||
| Campbell | 15 | Keenan | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Paenga-Amosa | 16 | Kelleher | |||
| Slipper | 17 | Loughman | |||
| Tupou | 18 | Clarkson | |||
| Shaw | 19 | Beirne | |||
| Hooper | 20 | Timoney | |||
| McDermott | 21 | Casey | |||
| Donaldson | 22 | Frawley | |||
| Wright | 23 | Aki | |||
Recent Form:
Australia (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 22nd November 2025 | Friendly | France | 46-33 |
| Loss | 15th November 2025 | Friendly | Ireland | 46-19 |
| Loss | 8th November 2025 | Friendly | Italy | 26-19 |
| Loss | 1st November 2025 | Friendly | England | 25-7 |
| Won | 25th October 2025 | Friendly | Japan | 15-19 |
Australia finished the Lions series on a high, winning the third test in 2025 and started the Rugby Championship with a huge win over the Springboks. In the 10 games since then, the Wallabies have only won two games, coming by four points against Japan and Argentina. In their final game, they lost 48-33 to France. It was level at halftime, but the second half saw France score four, while Australia scored two.
Ireland (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Won | 14th March 2026 | Six Nations | Scotland | 43-21 |
| Won | 6th March 2026 | Six Nations | Wales | 27-17 |
| Won | 21st February 2026 | Six Nations | England | 21-42 |
| Won | 14th February 2026 | Six Nations | Italy | 20-13 |
| Loss | 5th February 2026 | Six Nations | Drance | 36-14 |
Ireland finished the Six Nations in second with the Triple Crown. They finished the campaign with a great win over Scotland, who had defeated France the week before. The performance was probably their best of the Six Nations and scored six tries to win the Triple Crown in what felt like a comfortable manner.
Australia vs Ireland head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 15th November 2025 | Friendly | Ireland | 46-19 |
| 30th November 2024 | Friendly | Ireland | 22-19 |
| 19th November 2022 | Friendly | Ireland | 13-10 |
| 23rd June 2018 | Friendly | Ireland | 16-20 |
| 16th June 2018 | Friendly | Ireland | 21-26 |
Ireland won the last five meetings with Australia and it is traditionally a close match. Ireland won the meeting in November comfortably, but the four wins before that came by five points or less.
