Writing in the Irish Independent, Tony Ward believes Ireland have no reason to fear Australia at the World Cup.
"Both teams were severely depleted so in a sense it was 'even steven'. No Irish redemption on that count. It was in effect the Emerging Wallabies v Ireland 'A' but with full caps on offer. They come with Rice Krispies packs today anyway. That said, and although their scrum has come on leaps and bounds, the Wallaby squad appears a long way short of the big two -- South Africa and New Zealand -- in terms of strength in depth.
"On the plus side for Ireland, there was little hard evidence to suggest that the Wallabies will take top spot in the World Cup pool as a matter of course. They will be favoured, but it is no foregone conclusion. For Declan Kidney, this represented a dogged and fighting end to a difficult tour. They were tired and it showed."
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