The Wallabies are hoping James O\u2019Connor\u2019s calming influence and more intent at the breakdown will spark a desperately-needed revival against European powerhouses Ireland.<\/p>\n
Insipid losses to England<\/a> and lowly-ranked Italy<\/a> have left the Wallabies halfway towards a demoralising winless spring tour that would have dire ramifications ahead of next month\u2019s 2027 Rugby World Cup<\/a> draw.<\/p>\n Under-fire coach Joe Schmidt has drafted the England-based O\u2019Connor into his squad after playmaker Carter Gordon<\/a> aggravated a quad strain in Sunday\u2019s 26-19 defeat to the Azzurri in Udine.<\/p>\n After answering an SOS from Schmidt in August, O\u2019Connor orchestrated Australia\u2019s incredible comeback win over the world champion Springboks on the South African high veldt.<\/p>\n Now teammates are backing the 36-year-old\u2019s cool hand to again lead the Wallabies out of their alarming season-ending funk.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does help having \u2018Rabs\u2019 back in the squad,\u201d centre and newly-crowned John Eales<\/a> Medallist Len Ikitau<\/a> said in Dublin.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, older head who\u2019s very experienced steering the boys around and obviously helping (young flyhalf) Tane (Edmed) along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Ikitau, who is also set for a much-needed return to the Wallabies midfield after missing the first three Tests of the spring tour, believes O\u2019Connor could be the man to unlock Australia\u2019s spluttering backline.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a backline, I think we can do a better job controlling where we want to play,\u201d Ikitau said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen just making sure that we\u2019re getting opportunities to get the ball to an edge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got some awesome wingers, who in space are pretty hard to tackle, so just making sure that we\u2019re able to share the load with the forwards and just taking those opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wallabies have been dominated at the breakdown by England and Italy and assistant coach Tom Donnelly<\/a> is expecting a vastly improved effort from the forwards against the third-ranked Irish side.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last two games our ball has been really slow at the breakdowns,\u201d Donnelly said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s helped with us not creating space for our ball carriers. We just have to try and create quicker ball.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do that by our ball carrier being really accurate with this detail and our cleaners and then our speed to clean, to identify threats and get rid of them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can get quicker ball, all of a sudden we\u2019ll be able to play with more space.\u201d<\/p>\n Playing down end-of-year fatigue within the ranks, Ikitau described Tuesday\u2019s training session as one of the Wallabies\u2019 best of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cJust in terms of our intent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a style, the way we want to play, and I think everyone was making sure that we played the way we want to.\u201d<\/p>\n The seventh-ranked Wallabies need to beat Ireland<\/a> to have any chance of claiming an all-important top-six seeding for the 2027 World Cup in Australia.<\/p>\n