Hooker Stephen Moore is still hurting after the Wallabies' grand slam hopes were dashed against England © Getty Images

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Matches: Ireland 15 - 32 Australia

Wallabies standard-bearer Stephen Moore's pride at regaining lost respect from an emphatic Dublin success still doesn't erase the torment of Australia's tour-opening loss to England. Moore continued his purple patch of form in the 32-15 victory over Ireland at Aviva Stadium but the residual pain from a Twickenham meltdown tells the story of what could have been for the Wallabies.

The dream of a second-ever grand slam would still be alive, and grabbing extra public interest, if not for a second-half capitulation against England, which turned a 13-6 deficit into a 20-13 win with two tries in 10 minutes. Moore admitted the November 2 defeat against the world No.3-ranked team still "massively" stings, even after convincing back-to-back wins over Italy 50-20 and Ireland.

"It's good to win two in a row I guess," the ironman hooker said after the impressive four-try Dublin victory. "(But) I'm still really disappointed about England. I really hate losing to them and it will take me a while to get over it. The most disappointing thing was not so much losing the game but not playing well. I know that if we played well we could have won the game."

The Wallabies meet England, and Six Nations champions Wales, in the group stages of the 2015 World Cup after being drawn into the 'pool of death' together. Coach Ewen McKenzie acknowledged an away victory against Ireland in front of a 53,000 capacity crowd at Aviva Stadium was a key result for his rebuilding No.4-ranked side looking ahead to the tournament.

McKenzie has set them the goal of three in a row, with a first victory over Six Nations strugglers Scotland since 2006 when they meet at Murrayfield next weekend. The Scots, now coached by wily Aussie Scott Johnson, have sprung major upsets in their past two meetings with a 9-8 win at Murrayfield in 2009 and a 9-6 result in a squall in Newcastle last year.

"Two wins in a row is a good boost to the boys but in saying that both teams are below us (on the rankings) and we want to go the other way," Moore said. "Three is another statement to get some credibility out there and that's really what we're after."