History of rugby union matches between Australia and Ireland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Since 1927, Australia and Ireland have competed against each other in rugby union in thirty-nine matches, Australia having won twenty-two, Ireland sixteen, with one draw. Their first meeting was on 12 November 1927, and was won 5–3 by Australia. Their most recent meeting took place at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin on 15 November 2025 and was won 46–19 by Ireland.

Ireland have faced Australia five times in Rugby World Cup play, with Australia winning the first four before Ireland finally won in Eden Park in 2011.

Since 1999 the two sides have competed for the Lansdowne Cup.[1] The Cup is currently held by Ireland, having defeated Australia in their most recent fixture in Dublin in 2025.

Overall

Details Played Won by
Australia		 Won by
Ireland		 Drawn Australia points Ireland points
In Australia 16 11 5 0 390 258
In Ireland 22 11 10 1 388 343
Neutral venue 1 0 1 0 6 15
Overall 39 22 16 1 784 616

Results

No. Date Venue Score Winner Competition Attendance Ref.
1 12 November 1927 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 3–5  Australia 1927–28 New South Wales tour of Great Britain, Ireland and France 25,000 [2]
2 6 December 1947 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 3–16  Australia 1947–48 Australia tour of Great Britain, Ireland, France and North America 50,000 [3]
3 18 January 1958 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 9–6  Ireland 1957–58 Australia tour of Great Britain, Ireland and France 33,000 [4]
4 21 January 1967 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 15–8  Ireland 1966–67 Australia tour of Great Britain, Ireland and France 54,000 [5]
5 13 May 1967 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 5–11  Ireland 1967 Ireland tour of Australia 32,605 [6]
6 26 October 1968 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 10–3  Ireland 1968 Australia tour of Great Britain and Ireland 28,000 [7]
7 17 January 1976 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 10–20  Australia 1975–76 Australia tour of Great Britain, Ireland and the United States 52,000 [8]
8 3 June 1979 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 12–27  Ireland 1979 Ireland tour of Australia 16,500 [9]
9 16 June 1979 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 3–9  Ireland 33,476 [10]
10 21 November 1981 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 12–16  Australia 1981–82 Australia tour of Great Britain and Ireland 54,000 [11]
11 10 November 1984 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 9–16  Australia 1984 Australia tour of Great Britain and Ireland 35,600 [12]
12 7 June 1987 Concord Oval, Sydney 33–15  Australia 1987 Rugby World Cup 14,856 [13]
13 20 October 1991 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 18–19  Australia 1991 Rugby World Cup 54,500 [14]
14 31 October 1992 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 17–42  Australia 1992 Australia tour of Great Britain and Ireland 54,500 [15]
15 5 June 1994 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 33–13  Australia 1994 Ireland tour of Australia 26,545 [16]
16 11 June 1994 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 32–18  Australia 37,239 [17]
17 23 November 1996 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 12–22  Australia 1996 Australia tour of Great Britain, Ireland and Italy 52,000 [18]
18 12 June 1999 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 46–10  Australia 1999 Ireland tour of Australia 24,177 [19]
19 19 June 1999 Subiaco Oval, Perth 32–26  Australia 26,267 [20]
20 10 October 1999 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 3–23  Australia 1999 Rugby World Cup 49,250 [21]
21 9 November 2002 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 18–9  Ireland 2002 end-of-year rugby union internationals 49,000 [22]
22 7 June 2003 Subiaco Oval, Perth 45–16  Australia 2003 Ireland tour of Australia, Samoa and Tonga 40,000 [23]
23 1 November 2003 Docklands Stadium, Melbourne 17–16  Australia 2003 Rugby World Cup 54,206 [24]
24 19 November 2005 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 14–30  Australia 2005 end of year rugby union tests 42,000 [25]
25 24 June 2006 Subiaco Oval, Perth 37–15  Australia 2006 mid-year rugby test series 38,200 [26]
26 19 November 2006 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 21–6  Ireland 2006 end of year rugby union tests 42,000 [27]
27 14 June 2008 Docklands Stadium, Melbourne 18–12  Australia 2008 mid-year rugby test series 47,500 [28]
28 15 November 2009 Croke Park, Dublin 20–20 draw 2009 end of year rugby union tests 69,886 [29]
29 26 June 2010 Lang Park, Brisbane 22–15  Australia 2010 mid-year rugby test series 45,498 [30]
30 17 September 2011 Eden Park, Auckland (New Zealand) 15–6  Ireland 2011 Rugby World Cup 58,678 [31]
31 16 November 2013 Aviva Stadium, Dublin 15–32  Australia 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests 51,000 [32]
32 22 November 2014 Aviva Stadium, Dublin 26–23  Ireland 2014 end-of-year rugby union tests 51,100 [33]
33 26 November 2016 Aviva Stadium, Dublin 27–24  Ireland 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals 51,000 [34]
34 9 June 2018 Lang Park, Brisbane 18–9  Australia 2018 Ireland tour of Australia 46,273 [35]
35 16 June 2018 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne 21–26  Ireland 29,018 [36]
36 23 June 2018 Stadium Australia, Sydney 16–20  Ireland 44,085 [37]
37 19 November 2022 Aviva Stadium, Dublin 13–10  Ireland 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals 51,700 [38]
38 30 November 2024 Aviva Stadium, Dublin 22–19  Ireland 2024 end-of-year rugby union internationals 51,700 [39]
39 15 November 2025 Aviva Stadium, Dublin 46–19  Ireland 2025 end-of-year rugby union internationals 51,700 [40]

List of series

Played Won by
Australia		 Won by
Ireland		 Drawn
5 2 3 0
Year Australia Ireland Series winner Lansdowne Cup
1967 0 1  Ireland Not contested
1979 0 2  Ireland
1994 2 0  Australia
1999 2 0  Australia
2018 1 2  Ireland

Images

References

External links

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI