It came down to one kick, a long way out, and it stayed to the right. Australia's Ben Donaldson had the chance to win it in the dying seconds, but his penalty drifted wide and Ireland escaped Sydney with a 33-31 victory in one of the more brutal, breathless tests of the new Nations Championship.
Ireland's winning try came from prop Thomas Clarkson in the 77th minute, converted by Sam Prendergast, and it was enough to extend their winning run over the Wallabies to six tests. But the 41,971 at Allianz Stadium saw a home side that pushed the world's form team to the very last play.
Andy Farrell, whose Ireland side rode their luck at the death, admitted he thought the game had slipped away. "Honestly, I thought he'd get it," the Ireland head coach said of Donaldson's late attempt. "Having said that, it was a long way out, tough, tough old kick." He shrugged at the fine line between the sides: "Fine margins, isn't it? That's top-level Test match rugby, that's how it should be."
Fullback Hugo Keenan captured the intensity of it. "God, it was so tight, so intense, a proper Test match," he said. "We asked to make this crowd, these thousands in green proud, and I think that's exactly what we did. We never gave up, we dug in deep and, at the end of the day, it just came down to a kick and it could have gone either way."
Acting captain Dan Sheehan, standing in with several senior men absent, was quick to salute the beaten hosts. "To the Wallabies, what a Test match. I know you guys are going places and on another day that could easily have been yours, so fair play," he said. "We weren't perfect by any means, but to be able to close out games like that, you can't buy them."
Australia's frustration was tempered by pride in a young side that had a Test-winning kick in front of it. Coach Joe Schmidt, taking on the country he once led to Grand Slams, refused to pin the loss on the final miss. "We had two chances to close it out in the end, sometimes they don't come off, but I was really pleased with how we started the game," Schmidt said. "We have to get better at taking those opportunities because you've got to work so hard to get them."
Captain Harry Wilson went out of his way to protect his fly-half. "I backed 'Dono'. I know he's a good kicker and I loved how he stepped up in that moment," Wilson said. "He wanted it, and that's what you want from your 10. I can live with him missing that because he wasn't scared at the moment and I'm sure in the future he'll step up and get that win for the Wallabies."
For all the heartbreak, the takeaway for Australia was closeness, not another familiar defeat — six losses on the bounce to Ireland, but the margins are shrinking. For Farrell's men, a win banked without the finished product. "We'll be proud of that win, but we have a lot to work on," Sheehan said.
