Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll has praised his side's effort in their last game of the season against Australia but admitted it was the wasting off possession that cost them victory in Melbourne.

Ireland commanded much of the possession and territory in the Telstra Dome but basic errors proved costly.

O'Driscoll scored Ireland's second try of the game before limping off with a recurrence of the hamstring strain that has dogged his season, but he was happy with the commitment of those who stayed on the pitch to keep the intensity up for the duration against quality opposition.

"We had a lot of possession and you can't say we didn't have our opportunities, because we did," O'Driscoll said. "A couple of tries we conceded in the first half we probably didn't make them work hard enough for them and when you are dogging it out and working so hard, it is soul destroying when you give up easy tries like that.

"But we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance to snatch it there at the end. It was something that we said that we wanted, to play an 80-minute performance or a 90-minute performance, whatever it took and you can't deny the lads it was certainly that.

"We just lacked a bit of that clinical touch at times and we were made to pay for it."

Ireland had numerous chances to snatch victory in the closing 15 minutes of the game, but made some sloppy mistakes with the try line in sight.

"When you are playing sides like the Wallabies, they have to go to hand those last passes," O'Driscoll said. "Little pops here and there that went to deck and on another day they may have stuck to hand and created more opportunities and it just wasn't to be and that is where the frustration is.

"We still managed to score a nice try in that second half that got us back into the game but with the amount we created it was small returns."

Despite a second loss in a week following last weekend's 21-11 defeat by New Zealand, O'Driscoll believes there were many positives to come out of Ireland's two southern hemisphere Tests.

O'Driscoll singled out Robert Kearney, Stephen Ferris and James Heaslip for their performances against the Wallabies and feels everything bodes well for the future when Declan Kidney takes over as coach on the side's return home.

"There were parts of our game that I felt were very pleasing, but there is also plenty of room for improvement," O'Driscoll said. "I think when you know you have a base to work off, it just has to be produced on a more constant basis.

"A few times the ball went down when it should have stuck and that will be something we will look to improve on."

At 29 years of age, O'Driscoll may be heading into the twilight of his career, but the hard-working skipper still has his sights set on winning more trophies.

"You don't judge yourself on caps or tries, you judge yourself on silverware," O'Driscoll said. "To date I have won a couple of Magners League (titles), three triple crowns but that is it. Essentially, I want to win a European Cup, I want to win a Grand Slam and, god forbid, I want to win a World Cup.

"There's no harm setting your standards nice and high because if you set them low and you achieve them you will disappoint yourself."