Joe Schmidt paid tribute the efforts of his Ireland players in the absorbing 27-24 victory over Australia, but admitted that a profligate Wallabies attack let the hosts off the hook.
Tries from Iain Henderson and Garry Ringrose saw Ireland power into a deserved 17-0 lead, but Dean Haylett-Petty, Tevita Kuridrani and Sefanaia Naivalu all crossed the whitewash as Michael Cheika’s side roared into the lead at the Aviva.
Despite losing Rob Kearney, Andrew Trimble and Jared Payne and a backline shuffle that saw Joey Carbery slot in at full-back and Kieran Marmion stationed on the wing, Ireland fought back with Keith Earls claiming the sixth and final try of the encounter.
Speaking to RTÉ, the head coach said he was very satisfied with the collective performance.
“I couldn’t have asked for much more,” he said.
“We got a bit of luck at times that looked like the last pass would have undone us and they didn’t quite deliver it, they just lost control of the ball a couple of times.
“A couple of times they were forced errors.
"Kieran Marmion’s hit on David Pocock to force a forward pass..He just got suddenly hit and that was probably a defensive highlight.
“There were a whole sort of highlights.”
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The former Leinster coach admitted that Naivalu’s try, to put the Aussies ahead, was a blow with the incessant pressure they were under, but praised the defensive bravery to come back with a try of their own.
“When they hit the lead I thought that was going to be really tough," said Schmidt.
“It was proactive defence that got us back up there. When those big guys [Australian ball carriers] started running at our fringes, I thought they held in a did a great job.”
"We probably got a bit lucky with Australia probably squandering a few chances"
Schmidt can reflect on a year that saw a first-ever win on South African soil, a historic victory over the All Blacks in Chicago and now a dogged and determined win over the Wallabies to complete a clean sweep of the ‘Big Three’.
Ever the pragmatist however, Schmidt is not getting carried away and says there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“There are things we know we have to get better at.
“We probably got a bit lucky with Australia probably squandering a few chances they created. We have to be better not to allow those chances to occur.”
