O'Driscoll delivers on cue
Captain's last throw of the dice caps Ireland's relentless attacking display
Brian O'Driscoll pictured scoring the last minute try which saved the game for Ireland. Photo: Getty Images
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WAITING for Drico ... With 10 minutes to go, Australia leading 20-13 and Ireland's increasingly desperate efforts being thwarted by Wallaby defenders and referee Jonathan Kaplan, the over-riding thought was: "We could do with a bit of O'Driscoll now."
Ireland's captain had enjoyed a solid outing in his 94th appearance for his country and 100th Test match but was involved in the gift that was the Australians' first try after two minutes and had not been able to break free to produce any spectacular moments in attack. But, as with all world-class athletes, timing is everything and when O'Driscoll struck he made it count.
Tomas O'Leary's final pass from the scrum doubled up as the last throw of the dice and the gamble paid off as O'Driscoll drifted wide and the scrum-half's delivery hit him perfectly. Through he went for the touchdown under the posts and a delirious fist-clenching celebration. Ronan O'Gara added the conversion and the Grand Slam champions had a draw, which, in the circumstances, was a pretty commendable achievement and one that will stand to this team as it builds towards the 2011 World Cup.
Creaked
Those circumstances included the Irish going into the match without a game together in eight months, while the Australians have been playing and touring since July. Also, the fact that tight-head John Hayes and hooker Jerry Flannery were chronically short of game-time and 22-year-old loose-head Cian Healy was making his debut had meant that the Irish scrum had creaked alarmingly against a powerful visiting unit.
Yet, for that crucial end-play, the scrum was rock solid, allowing O'Leary the platform to find his man. "It was just a smart move," said O'Driscoll with typical modesty, paying tribute to the role of backs coach Alan Gaffney. "It's something we've worked on very hard in training and I thought Tomas did brilliantly, he had a few options."
While rustiness, aggressive Australian play and Kaplan's inconsistency contributed to an uneven performance, the most encouraging aspect from an Irish point of view was the obvious expansion of their attacking play, with all of the backline receiving regular ball to run onto, which is essential if this side is to reach the heights they aspire to.
"If you don't try these things, you don't learn an awful lot about yourselves," said O'Driscoll. "But it's difficult to click when you haven't played together for so long."
The Australians were pretty miffed afterwards and with good reason. This result takes the wind out of their Grand Slam sails and, when they had the chance to put the game out of Ireland's reach in the second half, they failed to take advantage. That said, the seven points they had on the home side nearing the end were a direct result of an Irish error after two minutes when O'Gara, adhering to the new positive policy, ran onto line-out ball from Donncha O'Callaghan, but his pass to O'Driscoll was too far in front of him and Drew Mitchell pounced on the bounce and raced over.
Matt Giteau made it 7-0 and the Wallabies had the start they craved. They looked the more coherent outfit in the first half as the Irish struggled to find their feet but there were glimpses of the threat the possessed with some good phase play and a swift use of possession. A good kick-chase by Rob Kearney set up the O'Gara penalty for 7-3 after five minutes before Giteau missed a shot at goal and another good passage of Irish play saw the out-half pull it back to 7-6.
David Pocock, backed up by his back-row colleagues, was having a profound effect at the breakdown and every time the Irish went to ground you waited for a turnover or the blast of Kaplan's whistle. When Flannery got isolated on the charge, Kaplan allowed Giteau to make it 10-6 to the visitors.
Rocky Elsom was starting to throw his Leinster shapes and a fantastic break down the middle by the Wallaby captain needed an O'Driscoll tap-tackle to prevent lasting damage. The Australian midfield looked dangerous throughout and Giteau sliced through after 26 minutes for what looked like a certain try only for Kearney to mow him down short of the line with a superb tackle.
When Wycliffe Palu was sin-binned a couple of minutes later for what looked like a legal tackle, you sensed this was Ireland's chance to squeeze the visitors. That was the intention, judging by the decision to spurn the three points on offer by kicking to the corner but the Wallabies, bolstered by their dominant scrum, held out and, at 10-6, the game was in the balance at half-time.
Robbie Deans' men started the second half strongly but when Kaplan awarded a ridiculous penalty against Jamie Heaslip, Giteau fluffed his lines and they had to wait until another penalty from the scrum for a 13-6 lead.
Healy was having a gruelling time at that set-piece but was up for the challenge and he ignited the crowd and his team-mates with a memorable surge off Paul O'Connell's challenge which took Ireland deep into Aussie territory. Ireland furiously worked the phases and Tommy Bowe powered over for O'Gara to tie it up at 13-13.
However, if Ireland turn to their captain in times of need, the Wallabies have Elsom when they need a lift and good build-up play ended with Elsom's barnstorming surge busting through the tackles of O'Leary and Kearney for a try in the left-hand corner.
Resolve
Giteau's superb conversion made the score 20-13 and you feared for Ireland's capacity to force their way back. But the next 20 minutes were a testament to the squad's fitness, attitude and resolve as they came at the Wallabies again and again, setting up attacking position after attacking position (Bowe had a try ruled out by the video ref) until, eventually, the battered Australians cracked and O'Driscoll did his thing.
Ireland's power runners need to look at their style of going into contact as the Wallaby defenders were frequently able to line them up and dominate the subsequent breakdown and the scrummaging will be come in for concerted attention -- though the front row will benefit from this outing. Some of the kicking for territory was not executed as intended and a few times the Australians were able to exploit forwards in the defensive line and make serious yardage.
However, this was a performance where the positives outweigh the negatives and one that will stand to the Irish while demonstrating the benefits of broadening your horizons. It preserves Ireland's unbeaten 2009 record while the salvage operation has to inject further confidence into a team that has forgotten how to lose.
IRELAND -- R Kearney; T Bowe, B O'Driscoll (capt), P Wallace. L Fitzgerald (K Earls 53); R O'Gara, T O'Leary; C Healy, J Flannery, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell; S Ferris, D Wallace (D Leamy 61-64, 75), J Heaslip.
AUSTRALIA -- A Ashley-Cooper (J O'Connor 68); P Hynes, D Ioane, Q Cooper; D Mitchell; M Giteau, W Genia; B Robinson, S Moore (T Nau 62), B Alexander; J Horwill, M Chisholm; R Elsom (capt), D Pocock, W Palu.
REF -- J Kaplan (S Africa).
- Hugh Farrelly
Irish Independent
