Ireland fought back from a halftime deficit to mark a 150th anniversary with a scruffy 22-19 victory over Australia on Saturday, sealing the victory in the last eight minutes and denying their former coach Joe Schmidt a winning return.

Ireland give head coach Andy Farrell a winning send-off before his secondment to the British and Irish Lions with victory over Australia in Dublin.

The outgoing government was led by the two parties that have dominated Irish politics for the past century: Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. They have similar policies, but are longtime rivals with origins on opposing sides of Ireland’s 1920s civil war. After the 2020 election ended in a virtual dead heat, they formed a coalition.

Vote counting is underway in Ireland’s national election. An exit poll suggests the contest is a close-fought race among the country’s three largest political parties.

Counting begins in Ireland as the ruling center-right coalition looks set for re-election:::: Dublin, IrelandThe exit poll put the left wing Sinn Fein on 21.1%, the center-right Fine Gael of Prime Minister Simon Harris on 21.