The Wallabies' hopes of a Test series win over Ireland will go down to the wire after the visitors showed their true colours in Melbourne.
Back at full-strength Ireland showed why they are Six Nations champions and world No.2 with a 26-21 victory at Melbourne's AAMI Park.
And Australia will be up against it at Allianz Stadium with halfback Will Genia to undergo surgery on Sunday after breaking his arm midway through the first half.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika alleged Genia was "king-hit" off the ball.
"We ran the play round the front and Will is the decoy around the back and he got king-hit from the side, it looked like a shoulder, and when you're not expecting it that's what happened," Cheika said.
"I'm not sure who it was but they jammed his arm and broke it."
The win broke a 39-year drought for Ireland, who last beat the Wallabies on Australia soil in 1979, also in Sydney.
Australia pulled back to within striking distance after a 78th-minute try by Taniela Tupou but a desperate Ireland wouldn't be denied.
The Irish made eight changes to the team after their first-Test loss in Brisbane, with five-eighth Johnny Sexton returning to partner star halfback Conor Murray and orchestrate the victory.
While the halves were dangerous all night, their powerhouse new front row and flanker Peter O'Mahony at the breakdown laid the platform for the win.
They starved the Wallabies of possession, with Australia managing only 43 per cent for the match, and nullified the aerial prowess of fullback Israel Folau.
After it being a strength in the first Test Cheika lamented his team's wayward kicking and their poor discipline, conceding 15 penalties.
"They had a lot of possession and we defended well on the line and our work ethic was good," Cheika said.
"But in general there were too many soft penalties which piggy-backed them into position or into points."
The Australians couldn't have had a better start with centre Kurtley Beale running onto an inside ball from Bernard Foley only one minute into the game to leave the defence grasping at thin air.
But any momentum they had stalled when winger Marika Koroibete was given a yellow card after a dumping tackle on Irish fullback Rob Kearney.
Murray then showed his smarts to send the ball wide to winger Andrew Conway, who scored where Koroibete would have been defending to level at 7-7.
As the visitors piled on pressure, the Wallabies looked flustered and their ill discipline proved costly, with Sexton kicking penalty goals to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
The Wallabies trailed 16-14 at halftime after being awarded a penalty try which led to prop Tadhg Furlong also given a yellow card for collapsing the maul.
Ireland pushed the scoreline out to 23-14 when they ran the Wallabies' defence ragged.
Winger Keith Earls was denied after 16 phases but, from the next lineout, Furlong planted the ball across the line.
Tupou took advantage of Ireland playing a man down to score, with the match coming down to a frantic finish.
But Ireland's rock solid defence again held up with Koroibete knocking on to end their hopes of an early series win.
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