Ireland vs. Australia: Key Battles to Watch at the Aviva Stadium

Ireland take on Australia on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, looking to continue their impressive form from this November and avenge their 32-15 loss last season.

Ireland currently look the strongest of the northern hemisphere teams and Australia the weakest of the "big three" in the south. This week, Ireland leap-frogged Australia into third in the IRB world rankings, so this match will serve to vindicate or question that ascent.   

Here are the four key battles for Saturday’s game, with particular emphasis on enticing match-ups.

Peter O’Mahony and Michael Hooper are both ball-winning openside flankers crucial to their team’s success. One of the pillars of Ireland’s resurgence under Joe Schmidt has been their ability to retain possession phase after phase. O’Mahony’s role is to ensure that happens.

Opposite him, Michael Hooper offers more of a running game than O’Mahony, but he will also be judged on turnovers and possession.

The Australian captain has all the physical attributes required of the position, and his battle with Mahony, the top stealer in the 2014 Six Nations (as per Irish Rugby) will be the most important factor in determining outcome of the fixture. Such was his impact in the corresponding game last year, Hooper was named Man of the Match.

The tactical battle between Joe Schmidt and Michael Cheika is an intriguing matchup because of their similar backgrounds.

They both had successful stints coaching the Irish province Leinster and know all about the province’s national team representatives. Will Cheika’s knowledge of Irish rugby give him the upper hand, or will the Irish players’ knowledge of his methods suit them more?

Michael Cheika helped Jamie Heaslip towards several 'fond memories' http://t.co/GtkfYgzmTF

— TheScore.ie Rugby (@rugby_ie) November 18, 2014

Israel Folau is flying. The glaring omission from the IRB’s World Player of the Year shortlist is consistently Australia’s best player.

Australia, however, must use him better than they did against France last Saturday, when Folau was hardly involved. If Folau is given space, there are few players more able to exploit it.

Rob Kearney is another excellent full-back. His big boot gives Ireland field position, his aerial game is immaculate, and he runs incisive lines off the set piece and forwards (see video above).

As two of their sides most dependable performers, this week’s battle at full-back pits the power and handling of Israel Folau against Ireland’s rock, Rob Kearney.

Tevita Kuridrani is big and direct, and as Wales found to their cost, he needs stopping at source. If Kuridrani gets Australia over the gain line, Australia should be able to utilise their back three against an Ireland defence going backwards. That is when Folau would come into his own as an attacker.

Facing Kuridrani, Robbie Henshaw will have to be at his best defensively, but if Peter O’Mahony and Co. can provide the Emerald Isle with enough ball, the Ireland 13 will look forward to testing the Wallabies' positional sense.

To add a bit more spice to the occasion, Kuridrani was sent off in the same fixture last year for a tip tackle on O’Mahony.