O'Driscoll credits 'immense' forward effort

Rugby: The foundations for Ireland's greatest World Cup victory and their first over Tri-Nations opposition in the tournament were laid by their pack. The primary source of Wallaby discomfort was their feeble scrum, conceding five penalties from the set-piece as they were ground into the Eden Park turf.

Man of the match Cian Healy and tighthead Mike Ross, ably assisted by hooker Rory Best, obliterated a scrum that had stood up to New Zealand and South Africa during the Tri Nations.

Ireland also possessed the match’s outstanding forward in lock Paul O’Connell, but to a man the pack was magnificent with flankers Stephen Ferris and Seán O’Brien immense.

“It’s difficult to win games when you’re pack are second best but there’s was no doubt the pack laid the platform for the victory, that’s unquestionable,” said O’Driscoll. “They backed up what they’d said. The tight five needed to front up and our backrow were immense.

“They put us in a position to win the game and I have no problem giving them the credit for that.”

Jonathan Sexton kicked two penalties and a drop goal while Ronan O’Gara, on for Gordon D’Arcy who limped off with a tight hamstring, finished with six points.

The match was hardly a thing of beauty but was always gripping with Australia’s dashing backs capable of breaching the whitewash at any moment.

Twice they were kept out by try-saving tackles from O’Brien, whose influence grew as the match progressed.

Seeing the Wallabies so rattled will live long in the memory of Irish fans. Australia coach Robbie Deans was gracious in defeat and even insisted his side can learn from the winners of Pool C’s pivotal encounter.

“It was a very good Irish performance and they fully deserved their win,” he said. “They gave us difficulty across the board. The scrum was part of that. They played more intelligently.

“We were outplayed. It doesn’t really matter what elements you put it down to. We came here to win but we came second. What we got was an insight into what the World Cup is all about. At no point did we presume we’d be successful.

“What the Irish brought to the table was exactly what was required to succeed in tournaments like this. We must add that to our game if we hope to achieve anything in our time here.”

Wallabies captain James Horwill added: "Irish did well to spoil our ball. We played some dumb footy and we weren't good enough."

O'Driscoll also paid tribute to the tremendous Irish support in the immediate aftermath, but warned only "half the job" was done as they now aim to top Pool C and potentially set up a quarter-final clash against Wales.

"It's a performance we knew we had in us," O'Driscoll said on the pitch. "We had to dig deeper than we had done in the last five games."

He added: "It's half the job done. Two wins and two more to get. As much as we will enjoy this, let's not lose sight that we have two more games."

Ireland coach Declan Kidney was similarly cautious.

"I was pleased with the way we went about out business. We managed to stifle a very good Australian side. I think our scrum is getting a little stronger. We still have a little bit of work to do. The work really starts now," he said, adding: "It's the fifth time we have played Australia in the Rugby World Cup and you get a bit fed up with losing."

Paul O'Connell admitted it was a "special day".

"Today we played to our potential," said the lock, who captained the Lions on their tour of South Africa in 2009. "It's just a pool game for us. All the games from now on in are big games."