British & Irish Lions news: Australia’s previous results against the home nations
The British and Irish Lions head to Australia this summer for another tour which is bound to create some classic games and matchups.
As is the fashion of the touring sides, it is always such a high standard of rugby and usually a few very close Tests.
Australia played all the home nations in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, with Sports News Blitz rugby union writer Charlie Elliott looking at how they did.
Two wins and two defeats are not a bad return for Joe Schmidt’s side and offer a potential look into how the Lions will fare this summer.
England 37-42 Australia
The Wallabies were huge underdogs going into the game at Twickenham but opened their Autumn Nations Series with a bang.
A last-minute Max Jorgensen try after Maro Itoje thought he had won it late on indicates just how chaotic this game was.
There were some moments of poor defending but equally some of the attacking was outstanding.
The lead fluctuated and eventually settled with Australia getting a big win that gave Joe Schmidt and his side a huge boost.
Questions were asked of Steve Borthwick following the defeat due to the nature of losing a late lead, but he stayed on as head coach and is on the cusp of leading England to Six Nations glory, just months after this defeat.
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Wales 20-52 Australia
In one of the lowest points during Warren Gatland’s final few months as Wales head coach, the Wallabies ran riot in Cardiff.
A sublime attacking display with some really fast, flowing rugby gave them a huge win in front of a deflated crowd at the Principality Stadium.
It is strange to say given the gulf in class on the day, but the hosts were actually given somewhat of a chance by many fans ahead of the game, but that clearly came to no avail.
It was record-breaking for Wales, as it meant that they were officially on their worst losing run of all time, which at the time of writing is still going on.
Two hat tricks from Matt Faessler and Tom Wright sums up just how dominant it was, with very little fight from Gatland’s players.
By the end of the match, the stadium was mostly empty and there was a sense of deflation by the time the final whistle was blown.
Scotland 27-13 Australia
Things went from good to bad for Joe Schmidt’s side, who fell to a superior Scotland team at Murrayfield, in what was a display almost as one-sided as the Wales game, just against the Wallabies.
An early lead for the visitors was not capitalised on and a flourish during the start of the second half for the hosts gave them a commanding lead which never looked like being surrendered.
Harry Potter worked his magic and got a consolation try, but the result was only ever going to go one way.
After the positivity from the England and Wales games, this was a case of being brought back down to earth.
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Ireland 22-19 Australia
Andy Farrell signed off with a win before heading off to commence his Lions duties, as Ireland edged past their visitors in a tight game in Dublin.
In traditional Ireland fashion, they let their opponents have plenty of the ball and stayed in a solid defensive shape, countering when possible and using their physicality to disrupt Australia.
Despite a few errors from Farrell’s team, they controlled the tempo and direction of the game and were deserved winners.
It was not a happy return for Joe Schmidt, who used to be the head coach of Ireland, but he will seek solace in the fact that his players put up a good fight against a very good team.
Travelling between hemispheres is never easy, and that was the main difference between the two on the day, home advantage was a huge part.
MORE FROM CHARLIE ELLIOT: Six Nations news: England’s most memorable game against each rival
