Fly-half Ronan O'Gara kicked six penalties to give Ireland an 18-9 victory over Australia at a rain-soaked Lansdowne Road, the first Irish victory over the Wallabies since 1979.
It was not a day for expansive rugby with neither side able to breach their opponents' tryline in a match that had plenty of blood and thunder on show, with the Irish victory owing much to a gusty and highly organised defensive effort.
O'Gara stood up to plate against the world champions, showing the doubters for once and for all that he has the temperament to battle against the best at the top level.
The Munster man was coolness personified as he slotted his six penalties in difficult conditions in Dublin, but was also a key man in Ireland’s tactical battle against the Wallabies, his kicking from hand keeping the opposition pinned back into their own territory for long stretches and giving his forwards plenty of momentum.
He was aided in his task by the comforting backline presence of new skipper Brian O'Driscoll who had another memorable game against the Wallabies following his heroics Down Under with the 2001 Lions.
O'Driscoll was a constant threat in attack, making a number of telling half breaks throughout the match and also put in more than his fair share of midfield hits to break the Wallabies' rhythm.
While O'Driscoll can expect to drop back down into the ranks once Keith Wood is fit for international duty again, coach Eddie O'Sullivan will be delighted he has found an admirable deputy for the ever-fragile Wood.
But much of the credit for the win must go to the home pack, who gained the upperhand over their opponents early on in proceedings and never relinquished it.
With halfbacks O'Gara and Peter Stringer playing to the corners with the boot, the Irish forwards kept the pressure up in set-piece and loose play, rocking the Wallabies back with some highly effective dynamic drives up the middle of the paddock.
O'Gara opened up a 3-0 lead in the 12th minute after Australia were ruled offside in their own half following a period of sustained early pressure.
Then, the Wallabies, already sporting six changes from the team who beat Argentina in Buenos Aires last week, were disrupted by the loss of influential Brumbies forward Owen Finegan with a dislocated shoulder to be replaced by Justin Harrison.
Finegan's departure coincided with one of Ireland's best attacking passages, O'Gara firing a wide pass to unleash O’Driscoll up the middle. Moments later, a canny cross kick the fly-half nearly saw Shane Horgan over for a try in the right-hand corner, the Australian defence just managing to hold up the winger and bundle him into touch.
O'Gara kicked a total of four penalties in the first period, while Australia -- despite coming close to scoring a try through wing Scott Staniforth -- were only able to hit back with one penalty of their own from Matt Burke.
Ireland made a change in personnel at the break, winger Denis Hickie going off after an earlier collision with Wendell Sailor to be replaced by Munster's John Kelly.
But Kelly quickly settled into the team's defensive pattern as Ireland continued to soak up the pressure from an increasingly desperate Wallaby team.
Burke kicked his second penalty after 45 minutes, but Ireland were able to nose further ahead again just a few seconds later with another successful penalty kick from O'Gara.
Then came a moment of drama when it appeared that Australia had made a crucial breatkthrough.
Centre Stirling Mortlock's clever chip ahead appeared to produce a try, leading to a few anxious moments for Ireland as the video refereee Brian Campsall was called upon to run the rule over the near try.
But Campsall decided that Irish fullback Girvan Dempsey had beaten Giffin to the ball over the tryline and Lansdowne Road breathed a collective sigh of relief.
There was more drama a few moments later, this time at the other end of the field as O'Driscoll charged down a clearance kick to pressurise the Wallabies right on their own tryline.
Somehow, George Gregan and Stephen Larkham managed to scrabble the ball away, although Ireland did manage to force another penalty some minutes later, O'Gara kicking his sixth -- and final -- penalty.
Burke kicked his third penalty in the 60th minute to set up a nailbiting last quarter which saw the Irish defence standing up to a series of dangerous Wallaby attacks to defend their lead and effect a famous victory.
Man of the match: Ronan O'Gara: There were some fine Irish performances from some of the Irish forwards -- most notably recalled backrower Victor Costello -- but Ronan O'Gara's demonstration of grace under pressure makes him Planet Rugby's Man of the match. The Munster fly-half has often had his big-match temperament questioned, but on this occasion O'Gara showed himself up to the task in hand, keeping a cool head. Throughout the match, O'Gara ran the game very effectively, his cross-field kicks keeping the Wallabies pinned into their own half for long stretches.
Moment of the match: The final whistle -- the Lansdowne faithful had waited a long time for this victory -- since 1968 to be exact -- and erupted joyfully at the end of the match. As the delighted players jogged around the pitch to the booming strains of U2 being played over the stadium PA system, there was barely a dry eye in the house, certainly not from the watching Irish Prime Minister Bertie Aherne who looked positively choked by the win.
The teams:
Australia: 1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Adam Freier, 3 Nic Stiles, 4 Owen Finegan, 5 David Giffin, 6 Matt Cockbain, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Scott Staniforth, 15 Matthew Burke
Unused: Matt Giteau, Chris Whitaker
Ireland: 1 John Hayes, 2 Shane Byrne, 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Victor Costello, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Unused: Guy Easterby, David Humphreys, Marcus Horan
Referee: Walsh s.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Pen K.: Burke M.C. 3
Ireland
Pen K.: O'Gara R.J.R. 6
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