Robbie Deans got his tenure as Australia coach off to a winning start with a hard-fought 18-12 win over a determined Ireland outfit in Melbourne on Saturday.
But the Kiwi import would have had mixed feelings about his adopted team's performance.
The Wallabies kept mistakes to a minimum but understandably looked rusty in their first Test of the 2008 season which, judging by this performance, looks generally promising.
Deans will have noted areas for improvement, but Australia fans can be satisfied with a complete team performance that saw crisp passing, attacking flair and solid defence that kept the Irish playing catch-up for most of the match.
Even though the visitors boasted the majority of possession, it was the hosts that did more with ball in hand and made the most of their opportunities -- especially in the first half with two well-taken tries taking the score to 15-7 at half-time.
Ireland, on the end of a very long campaign, showed their commitment but struggled to penetrate their attacking prowess into points and at times were left wanting in defence at crucial tackle points -- particularly out wide.
The communication factor in the first half was also missing in the Irish backs leading to unnecessary pressure from the Wallabies who pounced on every error made.
Misguided passes also didn't help matters with skipper Brian O'Driscoll the main culprit when he uncharacteristically made a hash of two try-scoring opportunities in both halves.
However, it was in the second half that things certainly started to turn around for Ireland when veteran half-back Peter Stringer was replaced by Eoin Reddan who immediately injected more rhythm and structure into the visitors play.
A superb try by O'Driscoll in the 63rd minute against the run of play gave Ireland a shot at winning their first Test on Australia soil since 1979, but the luck of the Irish went the Wallabies' way, and -- not for the first time -- the men from the Emerald Isle will be left pondering what could have been.
Berrick Barnes got the ball rolling for Australia with barely six minutes up on the stadium clock after showing excellent support play following a Jonah Lomu-like run from winger Lote Tuqiri who tore down the right-hand touchline.
Tuqiri took a delayed pass from George Smith, beat one defender with pace, then used Irish full-back Robert Kearney as a speed bump before offloading to Barnes a metre out when he was finally brought to the ground.
Matt Giteau's conversion attempt shaved the post, but the Wallabies were nevertheless up and running with an early 5-0 lead.
It was the start of a rousing first half from Tuqiri in both attack and defence, yet it was Ireland who scored next through flanker Denis Leamy in the 15th minute following a line-out win and drive just five metres out from the Wallabies tryline.
Ronan O'Gara's successful conversion nudged Ireland ahead 7-5, but the Wallabies were quick to restore their lead following some fancy Lord of the Dance footwork from Giteau that would have left Michael Flatley proud.
The stepping Wallaby fly-half fooled two defenders before finding big lock James Horwill, who crashed over from close range for his first Test try.
Giteau slotted the simple conversion to leave the Wallabies up 12-7 after 21 minutes and then nailed a 40-metre penalty goal five minutes later to leave the home side comfortably placed at the interval.
Another Giteau penalty four minutes into the second half extended Australia's lead to 11 points, but it would be the last time Australia would come close to scoring.
O'Driscoll made up for a botched pass -- that would have put Kearney over untouched following a tremendous cross-kick intercept from the Irish centre -- with a try 15 minutes from full-time.
Winger Tommy Bowe counter-attacked a move sparked by Denis Leamy down the touchline following some deft skill from that man Kearney who was by far the pick of the Irish backs.
Bowe didn't have enough gas in his tank, however, but did well to find his skipper on his inside who stretched over to set up a tense final quarter of an hour.
O'Gara couldn't land the conversion, leaving the visitors trailing by six.
But the Wallabies hung on after being forced to tackle for more than a dozen phases to deny Ireland at the death.
Man of the match: Rookie scrum-half Luke Burgess was sound if unspectacular in his eagerly awaited first Test, while debutant winger Peter Hynes looked genuinely dangerous whenever he had room to showcase his blistering pace. Matt Giteau was his usual classy and livewire self -- as well as reliable as Australia's new first-choice goal-kicker -- even if his combinations with Burgess inside and Berrick Barnes outside him are still works in progress. And Lote Tuqiri played with energy and confidence, particularly in the first half, while the Wallabies pack did the job in nullifying their physical Irish counterparts. However it's not often that we give the nod to a player on the losing team, but Robert Kearney played his green heart out with an inspirational performance that was missing in the Ireland's World Cup campaign last year. Kearney made absolute carnage of the Wallaby backs every time he got the ball and was once again safe under the high ball and on defence.
Moment of the match: The Wallabies' two tries in the first half proved to be the clincher for the hosts. But the man they call BOD turned the game on its head with his second half try that gave Ireland and all their supporters a glimmer of hope in causing an upset.
Villain of the match: This is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen is it not?
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Barnes, Horwill
Cons: Giteau
Pens: Giteau 3
For Ireland:
Tries: Leamy, O'Driscoll
Con: O'Gara
Australia: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Ireland: 15 Robert Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Jerry Flannery, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Stephen Ferris, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Geordan Murphy, 22 Girvan Dempsey.
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges: Chris White (England), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia)
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