'Show it': Cult hero's passionate plea to Wallabies ahead of daunting clash with Ireland in Dublin

Wallabies cult hero Matt Dunning has urged Australia to "make it personal" if they are to resuscitate a flagging season against Ireland in Dublin this weekend.

Joe Schmidt's side have lost five of their last six Tests, with the most recent 26-19 upset in Italy marking the low point of the coach's two-year reign.

Schmidt admitted his players were flat in Udine as they reach the back end of a gruelling 15 Test campaign.

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Ex-prop Dunning joined Stan Sport's Rugby Heaven on Thursday and urged the Wallabies to display more mongrel and at the very least go down swinging at Aviva Stadium.

"All I know is I watched the England game and I wanted to jump out and give Henry Pollock one, at the end that game when he came on," Dunning quipped.

"I want to see more of it and it's not a fight, it's just saying we're not going to take a backward step, and it's saying to everyone, we're going to play physical and confrontational.

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"It's amazing how much the standard lifts with physicality when you don't accept your team doing a certain thing. Like the first Lions Test when (Tom) Curry hit (Tom) Lynagh in the air.

"The boys I played with, it would have been a lot worse for that bloke. All I'm saying is that it does make a difference and and it shows everyone, fans how much it matters."

Italy played with more passion and purpose than the Wallabies to seize control of the game in the second half.

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Against the Lions the biggest player on the field, Will Skelton, and the smallest, Nic White, were at the forefront of taking it to the tourists in the third Test win in Sydney.

Neither will be on the field in Dublin.

"I'm not suggesting it doesn't matter to these guys," Dunning said.

"I know it does, but show it, you know. And it's about controlled aggression. We've all gone too far but that's what they're paid to do, you know, be out there and make it physical and make it personal."

On top of Super Rugby, the Wallabies are this year playing 15 Tests for the first time since 2016.

Recently retired Wallabies great James Slipper admitted that was "probably" too much.

"It's always the interesting thing around this time, the Irish are just getting back together after a bit of a refresh from the Lions," Slipper said on Stan Sport's Between Two Posts.

"The Wallabies are on the opposite end of that, they're going into their 14th Test so there's going to be two different tales there, one's pretty fresh, one's hanging on a bit.

"If we can muster up a good prep week… it's going to be close either way but I reckon we'll win."

Slipper played 151 Tests, often with undisclosed injuries, to sit third on the all-time list behind Alun Wyn Jones (171) and Sam Whitelock (153).

"I think it's manageable. There's always talk around, 'why do we rest players? Why do we do that?' If you play every Super game, every Test, you're looking at over 30 games, plus you're going around the world a couple of times," Slipper said.

"I think it's manageable but I don't think it's great for the Wallabies per se. You would not find one Australian rugby player who will say no to playing 15 Tests either.

"One thing you won't hear from the group and Joe in particular is they won't use it as an excuse. I'm pretty sure he said that after the game, like they know what's coming."

The Wallabies are aiming to avoid becoming the first touring Australian team to lose four Tests in a row in Europe since 1958.

Schmidt will name his team on Friday (AEDT).