The Australia Youths rounded off their International Rules tour of Ireland with victory in the only test match at Croke Park yesterday. It was a deserved win for the sharper and more economical visitors who made better use of their possession and showed a greater level of adaptability in the hybrid game.

Ireland, having started well, faded in the third quarter but came battling back at the end and nearly snatched a draw when Eoin Gallagher's flying contact in front of goal deflected the ball for a point instead of the goal that would have tied up the match at the end of 80 absorbing minutes.

Traditionally, Irish teams have been more comfortable with the six-point scores that correspond to GAA goals, a score with no equivalent in Australian Rules. Yesterday, however, it was the visitors who showed a greater facility in front of goal and two final-quarter strikes underwrote their success.

One of the reasons why touring teams have such a good record in these series is that the opportunity to train together on a continuous basis leaves them better prepared for the game, both technically and in terms of fitness. One of the Irish coaches, John Tobin, whose Connacht side was the only province to defeat the tourists, said afterwards that Irish hesitancy had been unusual in that the provincial teams had tackled and moved the ball more shrewdly than the national team had at times.

Ireland suffered fatal lapses in concentration in the second half of the match and despite that, still came very close. Coping with the "use-it-or-lose-it" philosophy, familiar from rugby, Australia released the ball more efficiently than Ireland's players whose instincts were to cling to possession for too long so that their opponents were able to engulf them.

Australia's cover was noticeably quick and frequently they broke down promising Irish attacks which should have yielded more. In the first quarter, Ronan O'Connor was on the end of a slick move between Paudie Hurley and Tadhg Kennelly but his shot blazed over.

Leading 14-9 at the first break, Ireland looked in good shape but the visitors recovered the initiative and began to show signs of the steady tactics that ultimately won the match. They were much better able to engineer openings with the mark, picking out each other in space and holding up the ball until they had manoeuvred it into a scoreable position.

By half-time the scoreboard was level at 19-19. In fact Australia should have hit the front in the closing minutes of the half when Ben Phibbs sent a penalty wide after the Irish defence failed to release the ball.

Phibbs responded well in the later quarters and ended up as the afternoon's top scorer. Some good scoring by Australia, with overs from Phibbs, Richard Puruntatameri and Phibbs again, pushed them five clear going into the final quarter.

It is to Ireland's credit that despite conceding two goals in the last 20 minutes they kept the deficit steady. Quick thinking by Phibbs who ran a mark at the Irish goal before driving the ball to the net opened the gap in the 64th minute.

No sooner had Ireland had trimmed the deficit back to five in the 73rd minute Adam Morgan was on the end of a quick Australian break to score a second goal and although the home team fought hard and James Gill pulled back a goal with three minutes left, Australia weathered the storm and Gallagher's last-minute threat to their just advantage.