Andy Farrell relieved after 'dogfight' against the Wallabies

"Never in doubt", Andy Farrell exhaled, with nothing close to a straight face.

Any year where you pick up wins against the southern hemisphere's big three, you can mark it off as a good one. In Ireland's case, it's only been done once before.

But last night's 13-10 win against Australia showed there's a lot of improvements still to be made. At least we can sit through Christmas without mentioning those three famous words of Irish rugby; peaked too soon.

The game in general was a stop-start mess, with penalties outnumbering points 24-23.

And Farrell says on a night like that, it's all about securing the result.

"We can pull it apart and we will do, and we will learn from all sorts of aspects of the game, but the bigger picture stuff for me is that Australia made it an absolute dogfight and fair play to them," the Ireland head coach said.

"I thought the way they went about their game was abrasive to say the least, and certainly at the breakdown. They had the courage to shift the ball, like we knew they would, and they were dangerous with their outside backs.

"But for us to back up a few ill-disciplined bits and a few technical and tactical errors and still find a way [to win] is a hallmark of a good side. That's what good sides do, they always find a way in the heat of the battle, and we are delighted in that regard with the win."

Ireland's preparations were hit in the warm-up when captain Johnny Sexton strained his calf, putting Jack Crowley in for the start on just his second Ireland cap, while Ross Byrne was promoted to the bench for his first Test since March 2021.

The Leinster out-half's international career has been a topsy-turvy one by his own account, but he was nerveless in landing the match-winning penalty four minutes