1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia

1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia
1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia
Summary
P	W
Total
08	07
Test match
02	02
Opponent
P	W
Australia
2	2
Tour chronology
Previous tour	New Zealand & Fiji 1976
Next tour	South Africa 1981

The 1979 Ireland rugby union tour of Australia was a series of eight matches played by the Ireland national rugby union team in Australia in May and June 1979.

The tour was one of Ireland's most successful to date. Ireland won seven of the eight matches they played, including both tests against

Colin Patterson tries. In the second test on 16 June Campbell scored two drop goals and a penalty as Ireland won 9–3. These two tests also marked the beginning and the end of the careers of two Ireland rugby legends. The first test saw the debut of Ciaran Fitzgerald while the second saw Mike Gibson make his final Ireland appearance.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] While on this tour Ned Byrne

was the victim of a hit and run road accident which left his leg broken in three places.

Matches

Scores and results list Ireland's points tally first.

Opposing Team	For	Against	Date	Venue
Western Australia	39	3	20 May	Perry Lakes Stadium, Perth
Australian Capital Territory	35	7	23 May	Manuka Oval, Canberra
New South Wales	16	12	26 May	Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney
Queensland	18	15	29 May	Ballymore, Brisbane
Australia	27	12	3 June	Ballymore, Brisbane
New South Wales Country	28	7	5 June	Wade Park, Orange
Sydney	12	16	9 June	Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney
Australia	9	3	16 June	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

Test matches

3 June 1979

Colin Patterson (2)
Con: Ollie Campbell (2)
Pen: Ollie Campbell (4)
Drop Goal: Ollie Campbell

Ballymore, Brisbane
Attendance: 16,500^[5]
Referee: R G Byres (Australia)

16 June 1979

Australia	3–9	Ireland
Tries: Con: Pen: Paul McLean		Pen: Ollie Campbell Drop Goals: Ollie Campbell (2)

SCG, Sydney
Attendance: 33,476^[6]
Referee: R. G. Byres (Australia)

Touring party

Manager: J. Coffey

Assistant Manager: Noel Murphy
Medical Officer: T.C.J. O’Connell
Captain: Fergus Slattery

Backs

Paul Andreucetti (St Mary's College)
Old Belvedere
)
Frank Ennis (Wanderers
)

NIFC

)

David Irwin (Queen's University)
Terry Kennedy (St Mary's College)

Rodney O'Donnell (St Mary's College)
Colin Patterson (Instonians
)

Tony Ward (Garryowen)

Forwards

Alan McLean (
Ballymena
)
Gerry McLoughlin (Shannon)
John O'Driscoll (London Irish)
Old Wesley
)
Fergus Slattery (Blackrock College)
Ballymena
)
Pat Whelan (Garryowen
)

References

^ www.sporting-heroes.net
^ "www.irishrugby.ie". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
^ The Ireland Rugby Miscellany (2007): Ciaran Cronin
^ This test series remains Ireland's only winning tour of the southern hemisphere "big 3" countries and the last time Ireland won a test in either Australia, South Africa or New Zealand. www.irishrugby.ie Archived 27 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Ireland tour in Australia 1979 1979". espnscrum. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
^ "IRELAND TOUR - Sydney, 16 June 1979". espnscrum. Retrieved 1 November 2022.

ISBN 0-362-02018-3
.

[1] www.sporting-heroes.net

[2] "www.irishrugby.ie". Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2008.

[3] The Ireland Rugby Miscellany (2007): Ciaran Cronin

[4] This test series remains Ireland's only winning tour of the southern hemisphere "big 3" countries and the last time Ireland won a test in either Australia, South Africa or New Zealand. www.irishrugby.ie Archived 27 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine

[AUS_IRE_1979_1st-5] "Ireland tour in Australia 1979 1979". espnscrum. Retrieved 1 November 2022.

[IRE_AUS_1979_2nd-6] "IRELAND TOUR - Sydney, 16 June 1979". espnscrum. Retrieved 1 November 2022.

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