Ireland's unbeaten season perished in what is becoming a graveyard: a tenth consecutive defeat to the Wallabies on their home soil. This was an 18-9 defeat in an error-strewn performance.
Here are the Irish player ratings.
15. Rob Kearney - 7
Curious performance. A regal, assured presence for the first half-hour before losing his head from there. He uncharacteristically misread a ball in the move that ended with Foley's try, and followed that up by inexplicably dropping a ball from the air. Made a decent attacking impression in the first-half, too.
14. Keith Earls - 5
Earls only lasted 24 minutes, failing a HIA following an airborne collision with an Aussie elbow. He was curiously allowed to play on for a minute - in which his try-teasing kick-through was intercepted by Folau - before making way for Larmour. He struggled physically while he was on, bouncing off a series of tackles.
13. Robbie Henshaw - 6
A nightmare first-half perhaps explicable by ring-rust: thrice Henshaw launched himself wildly out of line and thrice he was caught in no-man's land. A last-ditch tackle by Jacob Stockdale prevented a try in the first instance, but there was no bail-out the second time around as Bernard Foley touched down. Improved in the second-half, and shot off the line to execute a vital, try-saving tap tackle on Folau.
12. Bundee Aki - 6.5
Coughed up possession cheaply in midfield on Folau's try, although was bailed out by the zeal of the TMO. Stood up to the Wallabies' physical challenge int he first-half but faded as the game wore on.
11. Jacob Stockdale - 7
Stockdale's Six Nations went to a pretty consistent, and nonetheless remarkable script - he scored one/two/three tries before losing half a point in his player rating owing to 'question marks over his defence'. Today was different: he didn't cross the try line but did exhibit some fine defensive qualities: most crucially in denying Koroibete an early try following a Henshaw misread. Harshly penalised in the move that ended with Pocock's try.
10. Joey Carbery - 7.5
Carbery's audition lasted 56 minutes, and it was decidedly mixed. He kicked three of his four penalties and while some of his passing was errant, he generally dealt well with a physical Australian defence intent on suffocating him. Odd not to give him longer.
9. Conor Murray - 7
Came in for heavy treatment from the Aussies, and Murray ended the game uncharacteristically rattled: his swearing at the referee upgraded an Aussie scrum to a penalty, which went to sum up his and Ireland's frustrations.
1. Jack McGrath - 6
McGrath failed to make much of an impact, and made way for Healy with more than half an hour to play.
2. Rob Herring - 7.5
Herring's line-out throws were spot on, and only James Ryan carried more frequently in the pack.
3. John Ryan - 7
Decent audition for Ryan in the bid to dislodge Andrew Porter from the Irish bench. Worked exceptionally hard and did a fine job of locking the Irish scrum. Efforts made to look even more impressive when Furlong was demolished five metres ahead of his own line later in the game.
4. James Ryan - 8
Ryan left nursing the irony of having arguably his finest Irish performance in what proved to be his first defeat as a professional rugby player. Made a monster turnover in the first-half look frighteningly easy and worked himself into the ground: six carries and a massive 16 tackles.
5. Iain Henderson - 7
Outshone by Ryan, Henderson's handling was clumsy at times but overall he was one of Ireland's better performers.
6. Peter O'Mahony (C) - 7
While Ireland's backrow were comprehensively outplayed, the captain did well: he made a big turnover in the first-half and was immaculate in his own lineout while being a nuisance on the Australian throw. Oh, and he garnished the first-half with a delightful grubber kick that just evaded Stockdale.
7. Jordi Murphy - 5.5
In a game where Ireland were largely obliterated at the breakdown by Pocock and co., Murphy really struggled to make an impact.
8. CJ Stander - 6.5
Unfortunate not to score a try with a great break in the first-half, and was his customarily industrious self, making 12 tackles and 12 carries.
Replacements - 7
Jordan Larmour (7) played three-quarters of the game and did well, seeing one big steal ruined by a poor Carbery pass and was agonisingly close to hauling Ireland back into the game with a try after Pocock's finish. Johnny Sexton wasn't his usual self, crucially missing touch from the penalty that cancelled Folau's try. Cian Healy, Sean Cronin and Tadhg Furlong failed to match the effort of the replacement Aussie front-row, and they were demolished in a scrum five metres from their own line . Kieran Marmion had a try disallowed by a very busy TMO, while Jack Conan and Quinn Roux made little impact.
