Dempsey will make his first start of the year against Australia

Leinster full-back Girvan Dempsey replaces Geordan Murphy in the only change to the Ireland team for Saturday's Test against Australia.

The 30-year-old has been promoted after starting last weekend's 27-17 defeat to New Zealand on the bench.

The only other change to the squad sees Jeremy Staunton coming in for Denis Hickie in the replacements.

Ulster's New Zealand-born scrum-half Isaac Boss is also on the bench and will have to wait for his first start.

The 26-year-old won his first cap when he replaced Peter Stringer for the last five minutes of last weekend's game against the All Blacks.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan said Murphy was dropped to the bench after a disappointing second Test against the All Blacks.

"I don't think he is on top of his game at the moment and I think he'd be the first to admit that," said O'Sullivan.

It has been a very productive tour for us and the players have got a lot out of it Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan

Dempsey has not started a game for Ireland this year after suffering a calf injury playing for Leinster in the build-up to the Six Nations.

He was left out of the squad to face Italy and France and was an unused replacement for the games against Wales and Scotland.

Dempsey finally made an appearance off the bench in the Triple Crown win over England and has also featured as a substitute in the two Test defeats against New Zealand.

He is due to win his 66th cap in Perth on Saturday.

O'Sullivan has resisted the temptation to tinker too much with the line-up so that he can give his best side more time on the pitch.

SCRUM V VIEW Another uninspiring selection by O'Sullivan. What does Dempsey add to the team? It's a case of two steps sideways and one step backwards RK Scrum V: Have your say

"I said before I left Ireland that I wasn't coming over to experiment with 30 players, that I would try and pick a team each week to win the game," O'Sullivan added.

"We came down here with a vision of playing three good games, three high performances, and when you try to develop players it is an equation that doesn't balance in this part of the world because if you get it wrong you get a good spanking for your troubles.

"It has been a very productive tour for us and the players have got a lot out of it.

"We had two games that were there for the taking and that was disappointing, but it is not easy winning down here and they were two very good performances."

Ireland team: Dempsey; Horgan, B O'Driscoll (capt), D'Arcy, Trimble; O'Gara, Stringer; Horan, Flannery, Hayes; O'Callaghan, O'Connell; N Best, Wallace, Leamy.
Replacements: R Best, Young, M O'Driscoll, Gleeson, Boss, Staunton, Murphy.