By Cathal Dervan

Ireland 21 Australia 6

Ireland aren’t quite top of the world in rugby terms right now, but they’re not far off it after Australia became the second South Hemisphere side to bite the Lansdowne Road dust in a week.

Eddie O’Sullivan’s team are now up to the third in the official world rankings after the Aussies followed South Africa down the losers tunnel in the penultimate game at Lansdowne before redevelopment.

This was the most impressive Irish performance for many years, as Ronan O’Gara’s shrewd kicking saw them dominate the opening half against a gale force wind in deteriorating Dublin conditions.

The home team led 15-6 at the break after totally pulverising the Wallaby pack in the scrum and in the loose in a game that saw Denis Leamy and two Aussies sin binned in the second half.

Denis Hickie, set up by a brilliant crossfield kick from O’Gara, and Geordan Murphy, after a stunning move across the Irish back line, grabbed the tries in that outstanding opening period.

And O’Gara did the rest, the Munster hero kicking 11 points from one conversion and three penalties in reply to two penalties from Aussie captain Stirling Mortlock in a one sided game that offered real hope to Ireland fans ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Irish man of the match Neil Best predicted there is more to come from the home side after a powerhouse performance on the flanks of the winning pack from the Ulster star who received rapturous applause from the home crowd for a series of big hits.

“I hope I’ve got better games ahead of me — I’d like to get better and better every time I wear an Ireland shirt,” said Best.

“It’s nice to beat people when they run into your channel. Against South Africa last week it was frustrating because I didn’t get the hits in. That’s the part of the game I enjoy and it didn’t happen for me against South Africa.

“I’m glad I got a few in against Australia. Everybody is working hard for each other so anyone could have won the man of the match award.”

Australia had a good moan about the weather afterwards, but their comments cut no ice with Best or Irish captain Brian O’Driscoll.

“What did the Wallabies expect when they came here? It’s a nation of bad weather. This is a good victory for us regardless of the conditions. We played well in the first half, although we didn’t quite match it in the second half,” Best said.

“It was good to have that points cushion but there are still things to work on. Beating southern hemisphere over two weekends is very good. We were the favourites for both games and I’m glad we’re won.”

O’Driscoll declared, “We played all the rugby and deserved to win. We’re not responsible for the rain. The conditions were more reasonable in the first half. But there was still a strong wind, and we still managed to play all the rugby.

“We showed good skill levels and took the ball through phases. Tactically we were strong; there is no denying that. But we were comfortable victors in the first half and we’ll take a lot of confidence from that, because Australia are a smart side.

“We were brimming with confidence. At halftime we were the ones with the chests puffed out.”

Captain O’Driscoll also led the praise for Best and added, “Today’s conditions really suited Besty’s style. He’s a seriously tough customer. When you see Lote Tuqiri struggling to get off the ground after he’s been hit by him, that shows the impact he makes. He’s an incredibly fit guy.”

O’Sullivan praised his team’s versatility and told BBC Sport, “It was a very different performance to last week against South Africa and in difficult conditions.

“I thought we were outstanding, we held onto the ball and didn’t give them possession to play with. We were rewarded with two excellent tries. We had a job to do in the second half and I think we got the balance right. We were a bit too flamboyant at times but I am happy with the performance.

“It was about being patient with the football. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective.”

Aussie captain Mortlock was also gracious in defeat and said, “Ireland are a good team. They scored two tries even though we defended so well against them.

“Their ability to hold onto possession and make territory was crucial. Our mentality in the second half was good but we still lost it 6-3. Ireland are in good nick at the moment. In the summer they competed well against the All Blacks and against us in Perth. Now they have beaten us.”