The Irish Times' Gerry Thornley fears the team's faithful supporters will not get their wish of win against the Wallabies in Brisbane.
"In keeping with previous treks to Australia, amid the Friday night buzz of downtown Brisbane there was a palpable sense of another impending Green Army invasion. The ex-pats have converged like moths to a flame, from all corners of Australia and even Singapore and no doubt beyond.
"Tricolours not only bedecked plenty of bars around town but apartments too on roads leading to Suncorp Stadium in Milton to the north of the city. Any Irish person living in “Briz” tells of every floor space being taken up. The Irish are coming. It should all make for a cracking sense of occasion.
"Suncorp, home to the Queensland rugby league and lately union sides, has almost sold out to its 52,000 capacity. Yesterday the ground echoed to the Irish kickers familiarising themselves with the steepling stands, which lend weight to Les Kiss’s “lunchbox” description of the stadium.
"Ronan O’Gara appeared more animated than Jonathan Sexton, perhaps as the pressure is off him to a degree, but he must be in a strange place. On 99 caps, he is set to become only the third Irish player to reach a century, yet won’t know if today will be the day."
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