Not only did Ireland retain the Coca Cola International Rules trophy here in Football Park yesterday, but they did so in circumstances which laid bare many of the assumptions which have surrounded the series since its inception 15 years ago.

Australia's comeback in the last couple of minutes to level the match made no real difference, as the home country needed a nine-point win to wrest the cup from Ireland's grasp after the eight-point margin in Melbourne last week.

Even the limited consolation for Australia of avoiding a first series whitewash was queried a little by the curious overrun on the clock which granted Nathan Buckley the extra minute needed to tie up the scores with a typically well-taken pressure kick.

Afterwards it was claimed that the timekeepers were right and that Channel Nine television's clock had been fast; in fairness, that explanation was in accordance with other stopwatches.

Anyway, given the spectacular enthusiasm with which the Australian public had taken to the series it would have been churlish to begrudge their team something for the two-match series they did so much to enhance.

The story of Ireland's success yesterday is in its way a commentary on the state of the series at present. Because of their unfamiliarity with the ball and, consequently, the taking of scores, Australia have to play very well if they are to win a match.

Ireland have acclimatised more impressively to the demands of their compromises with the International Rules - marking and tackling - and are comfortable enough on the ball to minimise their exposure when not playing particularly well. Teamwork and superior reading of the game got them out of jail in Adelaide after Australia started so well.

Details of the game make strange reading. It was Australia who made the more convincing goalscorers, and, as well as the two they scored, came within inches of adding a third.

Secondly it was Ireland who were the more wasteful, and they scored fewer overs as well as fewer goals than their opponents and were kept alive by the one-point behinds - basically wides.

Most astonishingly, it was Ireland who trailed going into the final quarter. Traditionally it is in the final 20 minutes that Australia haul themselves back into contention, but this time the endgame was a triumph for the management team of Colm O'Rourke, John O'Keeffe and Mickey Moran.

Having played the interchange process more confidently than before, and having prepared with a view to coming strong in the period at the end when professionals traditionally capitalise on their advantages against amateurs, Ireland swarmed past Australia and registered 10 points in the first five minutes of the quarter, which finished the series long before the hooter sounded at the end.

Australia had some alibis, in that their All-Australian selection didn't contain enough of the quick-running defenders so important to the game. As a result, all six backs had to go for the entire match. In fairness, Ireland had similar problems because of injuries to Ciaran O'Sullivan, Sean de Paor and Glen Ryan.

This meant that the indefatigably robust Finbar Cullen had, on his own calculation, about two minutes inter-change rest during the match.

If he was a hero in defence, there were others. Seamus Moynihan wrapped up the medal for Irish player of the series with another non-stop performance, combining his intelligence and vision on the ball with a fine sense of defensive awareness.

His most crucial contribution was the first-quarter switch onto Nathan Buckley, who again posed the most deadly threat of the Australian score-getters. By the end of the first quarter he had kicked four overs for 12 points.

Thereafter Moynihan allowed him four.

Elsewhere recovery was slow. Darren Fay was troubled by the lively Michael O'Loughlin when he switched to full forward, although Declan O'Keeffe - whose influence was curbed much more successfully by the Australians than last week - could have done more to keep out the goal O'Loughlin tipped in from a Shane Crawford centre in the 13th minute.

It was probably quite important that Ireland responded as quickly as they did. Graham Geraghty, back in the team after last week's controversy, had a hesitant sort of game and didn't show great instinct in a couple of goal chances. But his role in captain John McDermott's 19th minute goal was quick-thinking.

As in the 1996 All-Ireland final replay, he took a quick restart from a mark and set up McDermott for a blistering finish.

Last week, Australia effectively lost the match themselves by poor execution of many chances in the last quarter. Yesterday they again had a lot of possession throughout the first three quarters, but the scoring ground to a halt. Maybe if Scott Caporeale had managed to nudge home the ball in a 30th-minute goalmouth scramble, Ireland would have had too high a mountain to climb even at that stage.

Instead, the excellent Sean Martin Lockhart fly-kicked a clearance out for a singlepoint concession. The incident came only minutes after Crawford had converted the first penalty in International Rules with a cool-looking dispatch - which he reportedly admitted was a mis-kick.

In the opening stages it appeared as if Australia had learned sufficient about Ireland from last week to shut down key players. Both Trevor Giles and Ja Fallon were marginalised early on, but by the end both had recovered, and Giles in particular played out the match magnificently to end up as the team's busiest player.

Mention should also be made of Anthony Tohill whose scores were Ireland's main signs of life in the second quarter.

Peter Canavan had poorer fortune. The success of Jason Akermanis in marking the Ireland vice-captain was repeated so emphatically that the Jim Stynes medal for Australian player in the series went to him. Hard maybe on Buckley, whose scores kept Australia afloat in both Tests, and Stephen Silvagni, again excellent in goal, but Akermanis was a worthy winner.

Yet in the end the match was decided by Ireland's capacity to respond when the match was on the line in the last quarter. Patiently they picked off scores, and despite the late Australian charge - with two fine overs from Rohan Smith who again discovered his shooting boots only in the closing minutes and Buckley's classy equaliser - the result was fair.