Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll credited his team's nerve for enabling them to recover a dramatic 20-20 draw against Australia.
Skipper praises Ireland's courage in his 100th Test appearance
Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll credited his team's nerve for enabling them to recover a dramatic 20-20 draw against Australia at Croke Park.
The skipper capped his 100th Test appearance by scoring the match-saving try with a minute left on the clock as Australia's resolve finally waned.
Ronan O'Gara's conversion beneath the posts meant Australia's Grand Slam hopes were shattered and O'Driscoll praised the courage Ireland had displayed in their refusal to admit defeat.
"I'm pleased we were rewarded for showing the bottle to stick with them until the death and grind out a draw," said O'Driscoll.
"We tried a lot of things. Not everything stuck but plenty of things did. If you don't try these things you don't get better.
"We'll all be better for having played together. It's difficult to click when you haven't played together for six months.
"Australia have played a lot recently and for the most part we did reasonably well."
O'Driscoll's last-gasp try was a result of a neat set-piece move that saw him run onto a pass from Tomas O'Leary to saunter over the line unchallenged.
"It's a smart play that we've practised a lot over the last year. In the Six Nations we didn't have the chance to use it," he added.
"It's nice when plays like that come off."
Satisfied
Ireland head coach Declan Kidney was satisfied with his side's performance despite the late draw.
"Draws are a strange event in rugby but two minutes before the end I would have taken it," said Kidney.
"The one thing you can't coach is attitude and we showed that in bucket loads to come back like we did after being under pressure.
"We said at the end of last season we're a good side, not a great side and I'll stick with that."
Deans believes Ireland had "escaped with a draw" but confessed they were far superior to England, who the Wallabies defeated 18-9 last weekend.
"It was clearly a game we could have and should have won," he added.
"When you leave the door ajar to a team that has the maturity, belief and persistence of Ireland, they'll come back and save their skins.
"Ireland escaped with a draw. It was only in the last seconds of the game they were able to level with us so we are frustrated.
"There's no doubt Ireland were a step up from England. We stepped up our performance today."
