Matt Williams/ Rugby Analyst: That was as good a performance I can remember seeing from any team playing into a gale. Ireland were quite simply immense in the opening 40 minutes. And then they played such intelligent rugby in the second half with Ronan O'Gara proving he is now at the zenith of his powers.

Ireland have just proved they are capable of winning on the big stage.

A few words must be said about Neil Best as he appears to have just nailed down the most competitive position in Irish rugby. His defence was world class with the two hits on Stirling Mortlock and Lote Tuqiri proving to be game-changing moments.

Seeing Tuqiri gasping for air was the abiding image from this contest.

Ireland's tactics into that first-half hurricane were spot on. Moving the ball just two passes away and then going back down the short side. Simple but a hugely effective approach that Australia had no answer to.

It was the execution in these conditions that would have satisfied the coaching team the most. Another tactic that proved so effective was the circle ball. This was when O'Gara looped around the receiver, either Gordon D'Arcy or Brian O'Driscoll, took a return pass and fed the attackers out wide.

Australia definitely targeted the Irish centres for the early hit but this ploy negated their rush defence.

O'Gara mixed his approach throughout, until he completely killed the game as a spectacle in the second half (the referee also helped in this regard) with a relentless kicking game to the touchlines.

Take Australia's most dangerous broken field runner Chris Latham. The fullback was anonymous because the ball never fell for him. The Munster outhalf also opened the play at times and changed the angle of kick to suit the moment. A complete performance that included an off-the-cuff chip for Denis Hickie's try.

Hickie utterly justified his return to the Test match arena. Only a handful of wingers in the world could ride those three attempted tackles, all from big men, to touch down near the corner flag. It leaves O'Sullivan with an unenviable decision the next time he must write down a name beside number 11.

The second try was the proof that Ireland are now a top-tier team. It had everything. The forwards created go-forward ball and some textbook offloading in the tackle, especially by Shane Horgan, was dream rugby in these conditions.

That score was more important as it occurred in what I like to call the championship period of a contest - five minutes either side of half-time.

Just like the All Blacks on Saturday night, Ireland registered the game's most crucial score just before the break.

Horgan's hands were brilliant but the credit must reside with the foundations created by a truly epic display from the pack. They dominated the lineout, mauled Australia into the dirt and were quicker to the breakdown.

I expected Phil Waugh to make an impact on proceedings, and in fairness to him he was immense denying Ireland at least two more tries (although he should have been sinbinned earlier) with his disruptive abilities, but Ireland's second and third man arrived at the ruck before the Wallaby support.

O'Sullivan's risks in selecting Isaac Boss at scrumhalf and Bryan Young at loosehead paid off. Both gave a decent showing and have now gained the valuable experience of starting a high-quality international.

However, Boss did overplay his hand at times with the Hickie try coming about because O'Gara was forced to punt off a bad pass. Still, in time I believe Boss will become a genuine alternative to Peter Stringer.

There are so many positives from an Irish perspective but the malaise Australia rugby finds itself in must be factored into the whole process. I noticed the state of the game in Australia as soon as I returned home from Europe. And now the world is seeing it. An arrogance factor means it has yet to be admitted, while there is ignorance to solving the deficiencies that clearly exist.

Australia needs technical support from other parts of the world. They should start with using the superior scrum coaching in the Northern Hemisphere.

The scrum may be diabolical but the backline combinations are just plain wrong (Mat Rogers is not an international outhalf). Still, Ireland can rightly say they beat an Australian team close to full strength.

It has taken since 1999 for D'Arcy to reach the standard he now produces on a weekly basis. It takes that long to hone the skills of a world-class player. Take his ball-spilling tackle on Clyde Rathbone that led to the O'Gara penalty which killed off the game. The same can be said about the new offloading style. Ireland now have the confidence to try the extra pass.

The self-belief gained by this result is far more important than the actual scoreline. If the fringe players like Paddy Wallace and a new backrow combination are tried next week then this will go down as the best November international series in Irish rugby history.