Rugby: O'Driscoll gives Ireland last-minute draw with Australia
Posted: 16 November 2009 0224 hrs

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DUBLIN : Brian O'Driscoll marked his 100th cap with a try in the last second of the game to rescue a 20-20 draw for Ireland against Australia here Sunday.

The scoreline was hard on the Wallabies who were the dominant force up front and made more line breaks against a rusty-looking Irish outfit playing their first game of the season.

Australia had led 10-6 at half-time with Drew Mitchell scoring a try.

Tommy Bowe then scored for Ireland in the second half before Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom also went over for what looked like the game winner with his team 20-13 in front.

Matt Giteau kicked 10 points while Ronan O'Gara hit two penalties and two conversions for Ireland, the Six Nations champions.

The result shattered Australia's hopes of achieving a Grand Slam of wins over all the home nations on this tour after starting with a win over England last weekend.

"If we had defended that last phase, we would have deserved to win but who would have thought, in his 100th game, Brian would come up with the goods?," said Elsom.

"I thought we could have stopped that last play but they executed really well."

Any hopes of the Irish making a fast start were scuppered in the third minute when Mitchell ran in unopposed for a try after O'Driscoll failed to hold a poor pass from O'Gara.

O'Gara responded almost immediately with a penalty almost straight in front of the posts.

Australia looked sharper and stronger in the opening quarter and Giteau failed with a difficult penalty chance in the 16th minute as Ireland struggled for possession.

Giteau's miss marked Ireland first period of multi-phase play putting the ball through hand going right and left.

A scrambling Wallaby team were eventually forced to concede a penalty in front of the posts allowing O'Gara to bring arrears back to one point by the end of the first quarter.

Giteau hit back immediately after the Irish committed an offence to stop the Australian pack again securing turnover ball.

But just when it looked the Wallabies had wrestled control back from the Irish, Wycliff Palu thundered shoulder-first into Rob Kearney, doing more than stop the full-back's momentum.

He halted his own team's too by getting himself binned for a dangerous tackle.

Ireland failed to use the numerical advantage for the remainder of the half getting repeatedly whistled by referee Jonathan Kaplan for technical infringements.

Australia missed a chance to extend their lead at the start of the second half when Giteau failed to convert a straight-forward penalty opportunity.

As the second-half wore on Australia's superior match fitness showed. Ireland continued to struggle in the loose where young David Pocock, playing in place of George Smith, was the outstanding forward.

Giteau added three points after a scrum infringement, but then 22-year-old Leinster prop Cian Healy set up an Irish try with superb running - evading tackles and making 20 metres to set up a series of goal-line stands culminating in a try for Bowe.

Ireland had improbably drawn level entering the final quarter.

After the Wallabies applied pressure to Ireland's right corner, they long passed their way to the left for captain Elsom to touch down from inside five metres.

The Irish pressed until the end with the forwards making inroads but the backs, who had been subdued all afternoon, couldn't find a gap until Bowe took a wonderful line after a poor Irish maul off a line out.

But despite crashing over, the TMO ruled the winger had not grounded the ball.

Then O'Driscoll struck from the ensuing five-metre scrum.

For once, Ireland were solid and the ball was popped out to the centre who skipped in unopposed from inside 10 metres. O'Gara converted from under the posts.

- AFP /ls