Even when they were struggling to find any form or rhythm during the Rugby Championship, Australia had one major asset to fall back on – and it was a powerful one.
In head coach Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies have the game’s leading play designer; a man with a god-like power to concoct a plan that can – if everyone performs their role – unlock even the best defences.
Across 2024, there have been moments when Australia have looked to be in trouble only for them to reach for Schmidt’s menu and find a way back into the game.
Ireland are nothing if not forewarned.
Of the starting XV expected to be named by Andy Farrell on Thursday, seven played under Schmidt and the vast majority were involved when he coached against them for the All Blacks at last year’s World Cup.
That epic game was decided on a series of big moments but perhaps none was more significant than the four-man lineout play that Ireland couldn’t deal with, as Richie Mo’unga streaked through a gap between Finlay Bealham and Josh van der Flier before setting Will Jordan up for a try that put just enough daylight between the teams.
It was the result of hours of study and meticulous preparation, a weakness Ireland didn’t realise they had and a moment they couldn’t get back.
The stakes may be far lower at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, but this remains a very big game for Australia, who are determined to sign off from 2024 with a win that would help hype the Lions Tour, while Schmidt has also plenty of personal motivation to beat Ireland.
After all, his set-plays were once the lifeblood of the team in green, and he’s been on the receiving end of plenty of shade from the Irish set-up since he went home.
It’s difficult to prepare for the unexpected, but Ireland know there’s something coming.
They could take a leaf out of Warren Gatland’s book. Wales were the one team Schmidt struggled to crack, particularly in Cardiff, and that was partly because they refused to allow Ireland to set up for moves.
Whenever they suspected something was about to unfold, they’d barrel into blockers and seek to disrupt whatever was coming. With one person out of place, the move would run aground.
When the plays ran aground, the players lost confidence.
Josh van der Flier and former head coach Joe Schmidt during their time together with Ireland
Van der Flier was part of Schmidt’s set-up and he recalls the team being infused with belief when the coach’s pre-planned plays came off, as they have done for Ireland in the previous two weeks.
“It’s a great feeling, especially because you go through so much detail making sure everything is right, you’re rehearsing it all week both mentally and on the field to make sure you have your job right, and (when) you get a try out of it, it’s a nice feeling,” the Ireland flanker said.
“I’ve definitely been on the other side of it as well, it’s good when it goes your way and when it doesn’t, it’s not so good.
“It’s something we got quite used to when Joe was coaching, his set-plays. I remember thinking during the week how hard it must be to play against one of Joe’s strike-plays, so we’re looking forward to giving it a go this week.”
Preparing for Schmidt’s attack is not an easy task.
“Same with pretty much every team you come up against, some are straightforward in terms of doing the simple things and not threatening so much in terms of plays,” Van der Flier said.
“Whereas, yeah, a coach like Joe, you’d expect a few strike-plays and we always focus on… we have our defensive system, every defensive system is different, but if you do that perfectly and everyone does their job right, no matter what they do, you should have it covered.
“That’s kind of the way I do it, I work a lot… No.7 is usually the first forward out, hooker will be next inside then, and a lot of it is staying connected and having an awareness of plays they might do.
“But then, trusting the defensive system.
“Every week we go through the possible threats there’d be, between the seam between the lineout and the backline, because that would generally, between the No.7 and the hooker, be where most of the threats… come.
“Obviously, the second-rows, the No.6s do lineout and have just as much work to do looking at the lineout stuff.
“Everyone in each area of the field has stuff to look at, but certainly that’d be the main one I’d be looking at – in and around the first phase after that,” added Van der Flier.
They’re on alert and they’ve a decent idea of what might be coming in their direction, but a coach like Schmidt has the capacity to spring a surprise just like he did in Paris, and that’s what makes Saturday afternoon’s game all the more interesting.