Fatigued and relieved, Ireland are savouring a historic 20-16 triumph after holding out the gallant Wallabies to claim their first series victory in Australia in almost 40 years.
Ireland celebrate series victory over the Wallabies. Photo: Photosport
Coach Joe Schmidt admitted the Six Nations champions had emptied the tanks in front of a record crowd of 44,085 fans at Allianz Stadium to ice the most successful season in Irish rugby history.
The men in green defended their line until the very last minute to add the Lansdowne Cup to the Six Nations crown that the world's second-ranked side achieved in Grand Slam fashion in March.
"To be in their backyard and to sneak off with the Lansdowne Trophy is a little bit special for us, especially on the back of a pretty long season," Schmidt said.
"I think it's a credit to the players that they dug in just well enough.
"They deserve a break."
Kiwi Schmidt also paid tribute to the Wallabies, who threatened to snatch victory at the death after fighting back from eight points down early in the second half of a fittingly gripping climax to a series that yielded an aggregate of 55 points each.
"It's been a fantastic series," he said.
"They just kept coming - wave after wave - I thought they were super in that second half and I thought it was a super effort from our guys just to hang in there and keep them out.
"The speed they (the Wallabies) ran on to the ball made it hard to keep them off our advantage line, so once they started to get that momentum it was even harder to contain.
"It's a credit to our guys for hanging in there and it's a credit to the Wallabies - I thought they did a fantastic job of carrying really well.
"I think they've got fuel in the tank and I think they're building.
"I'm sure Cheik is pretty happy with some of what they're doing, particularly in the second half."
- AAP
