THE honeymoon is over for new Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt after just two games.

The New Zealander began his reign with a 40-9 defeat of Samoa last weekend but his team were well beaten by the Wallabies in Dublin yesterday.

Jonathan Sexton limped out of the frustrating four-try defeat after a hamstring injury scare, the Racing Metro fly-half's involvement ending at half-time. Livewire Australia counterpart Quade Cooper claimed a try to pass 100 international points, with Michael Hooper grabbing a brace and Nick Cummins the tourists' other touchdown.

Ireland crossed the line twice only to be denied by the television match official on both occasions and they will be furious with the defensive lapses that led to Hooper's first score, and Cooper's soft finish.

Cooper kicked off the scoring with a ninth-minute penalty, before Sexton levelled after a strong Ireland rolling maul. Cooper then fluffed a straight-forward penalty, but the Wallabies struck quickly.

Hooker Stephen Moore bisected the Irish midfield, before producing a scoring pass even Brian O'Driscoll himself would have savoured. Cummins collected and outfoxed the remaining cover to notch his third Wallabies try.

Schmidt spent all week telling his players how foolish it would be to kick away cheap ball to the Wallabies and would have been spitting feathers when Tommy Bowe cleared loosely from his own 22 and straight into gleeful Australian clutches.

Cooper's whipped pass sent Israel Folau to the line, Australia worked the ball back left and Scott Fardy's back-handed offload ripped Ireland apart, leaving openside Hooper with a clear run home for his first international score.

Ireland rallied immediately, Luke Fitzgerald's flat mis-pass sending Fergus McFadden into the Australia 22. Peter O'Mahony knocked on after sustained phase play, but then Ireland won a free-kick at the scrum.

Jamie Heaslip's number-eight break brought two tight sneaks towards the line, before Eoin Reddan failed to deliver the killer pass. After all the pressure, Sexton had to settle for a penalty.

McFadden's searing break yielded another penalty that Sexton knocked over, with Hooper sent to the sin-bin. Another fluent Irish attack brought Sexton's fourth penalty of the night before the interval.

After the break, another flat Cooper pass sent Cummins into the left corner from, but Tommy Bowe did just enough to deny him his second try. English TMO Geoff Warren reviewed the play and rightly ruled a knock-on.

Australia turned Ireland over at the scrum, though, and Cooper struck all too easily from the set-piece. The wily outside-half claimed his seventh Australia try, ghosting between Ian Madigan and Luke Marshall's wafer-thin resistance. Cooper landed his second penalty after Rob Kearney's uncharacteristic high-ball spill. Ireland's scrum power then brought a penalty that Madigan duly converted. Ireland punted a kickable penalty to the corner to launch the final quarter, only to knock on at the line-out when Australia sacked their maul at source.

The Wallabies took that cue to wrestle back control and quickly scored through a line-out drive of their own. Flanker Hooper rose from the pile of bodies with the ball, to confirm his second try of the night. Tevita Kuridrani was then sent off for a dangerous tackle on flanker O'Mahony.

The Australia centre flipped the Munster back-rower and planted him on his head, and can have no complaints with the decision by TMO Warren. Replacement Conor Murray thought he had scored from a penalty snipe, but referee Chris Pollock brought back the play, refusing to allow the quick tap.

O'Driscoll, Marshall and Jack McGrath dragged Ireland close again and Sean Cronin powered over. The replacement hooker was denied his first Ireland try though, with the TMO chalking it off due to a Murray knock-on in the build-up.