Ireland 26 Australia 13Magnificent. Brilliant. Wonderful. Choose a superlative. Hughenden rocked to the Fields of Athenry, a drenched Ireland team, replacements, squad members, management, supporters and parents whooping it up in the middle of the pitch, seconds after the final whistle. A Glasgow enclave will be forever Irish after last night's thunderous display.

This ranks with any achievement when considering Irish rugby history. There was nothing fortuitous about Ireland's victory; they had rendered Australia a beaten docket long before the final whistle. They could and should have won by more but it would be churlish to nit-pick on a night when a group of young Irishmen walked the walk.

The Australian team contained five Super 12 players, three of whom had recently played for the Queensland Reds in their victory over Scotland. They were reduced to fumbling wrecks, outfought, outthought and comprehensively outplayed, especially in the second half.

The Irish pack was colossal, with every man contributing handsomely. Nor could the winners be accused of being one dimensional as they skinned their opponents behind the scrum, outstanding centre Glen Telford and Richard Lane grabbing tries. The final try tally was 3-1 in Ireland's favour and it's not being one-eyed to suggest it could have been double that.

Australia barely managed to get out of their half after the interval and, when they did, they were only afforded a brief sojourn over the halfway line. David Gannon led the team superbly, drawing a phenomenal response from every player. Telford was awarded the man-of-the-match accolade but it could have gone to anyone in a green jersey from the phenomenal Jamie Heaslip to Denis Fogarty to David O'Brien.

Four games in 12 days without the luxury of being able to spring the bench, this was a wonderful testament to the physical preparation of the team. The work-rate on the night was mind blowing but it wasn't simply grunt. There was much to admire in atrocious weather about Ireland's backplay and, with one exception, watertight defence.

The opening exchanges, understandably given the conditions, saw both teams rely on the boot, field position being the cherished commodity. Ireland's lineout was virtually foot perfect, Fogarty hitting Shane O'Connor with his first three throws and this allowed the team a platform to get their driving game going.

In contrast the Australians lost two of their first three lineouts and that stymied the quick rucking game that they were looking to establish. The Irish, though, were initially a little pedestrian, the gambit of number eight Heaslip picking and driving and sending Telford on crash ball a little predictable, allowing the Aussies a chance to compete at ruck time.

The fact that Ireland were playing into the wind meant that they were losing the kicking duels in terms of net yardage gained but the tenacity they showed in hunting down Australian ball carriers allowed them to turnover ball.

Telford almost grabbed the first try of the match when he crashed between two tacklers but lost control about eight yards from the line. The pressure though forced the Aussies to concede a penalty on 11 minutes, which Steenson kicked on 11 minutes; the award coming from a wonderful tackle by John Hearty.

Daniel Halangahu responded for Australia with a similar strike and then edged them ahead with a second penalty on 22 minutes.

Ireland, though, were the more cohesive in possession and they illustrated this magnificently with a superb try from Telford.

Dummy runners held the Australian midfield, Hearty exploited the space before releasing Paul McKenzie. He raced to the 22, taking Aussie full back Drew Mitchell on the outside and although he was tackled, he flicked the ball inside and Telford collected the ball brilliantly at full tilt to slide over. Steenson missed the touchline conversion but two minutes later, the 28th, Ireland grabbed a second try.

Heaslip latched onto a loose ball on the Irish 10-metre line and took off, he threw an outrageous dummy followed by the most beautifully judged overhead pass to allow Lane to cover the final 30 metres to the corner.

Steenson failed to convert from close range to the touchline and Ireland's hard work was undone on 32 minutes when Josh Valentine caught the Irish midfield ball-watching and drifting aimlessly, cut through a gap before releasing Henari Veratu on a 50-metre run to the line. Halangahu converted superbly and the match was delicately poised at 13-13.

Ireland, though, refused to buckle and, galvanised by a superb pack performance, they forced Australia into conceding two penalties either side of half-time, both of which Steenson kicked. Twice they elected to kick close in penalties to touch and on both occasions referee Bryce Lawrence couldn't see if the ball was grounded as Ireland's catch and drive ended up over the Australian line.

The one nagging anxiety for the vociferous Irish support in a crowd of over 1,000 was, for all Ireland's magnificent forward effort, silly decision-making close to the Australian line and carelessly kicked away possession prevented them from making their dominance count more on the scoreboard.

Yet this Irish team just dismissed every error, raising the intensity levels and tackling like dervishes. Time and again they forced the turnover, scrapping for everything and with every question asked, they came up with an answer.

On 70 minutes they received just reward for their second-half tour de force when Fogarty was driven over after close-in lineout. Steenson's touchline conversion was an appropriate reward for a great performance. They'll now face New Zealand for the Under-21 World Cup crown at Hughenden on Sunday (4.15).

SCORING SEQUENCE: 15 mins: Steenson pen, 3-0; 18: Halangahu pen, 3-3; 22: Halangahu pen, 3-6; 26: Telford try, 8-6; 28: Lane try, 13-6; 32: Veratu try, Halangahu con, 13-13; 36: Steenson pen, 16-13. Half-time: 16-13. 44: Steenson pen, 19-13; 70: Fogarty try, Steenson con, 26-13.

IRELAND: A Finn (Dolphin); R Lane (UCC), J Hearty (Blackrock), G Telford (Dungannon), P McKenzie (Loughborough University); G Steenson (QUB), T O'Leary (Cork Con); J Wickham (Clontarf), D Fogarty (Cork Con), D Fitzpatrick (Belfast Harlequins); D Gannon (Blackrock, capt), S O'Connor (Cork Con); B O'Connor (Cork Con), J Heaslip (Dublin University), D O'Brien (Old Belvedere). Replacements: O Hennessy (Dungannon) for Heaslip (11 to 16 mins).

AUSTRALIA: D Mitchell (capt); C Shepherd, J Graham, C Siale, H Veratu; D Halangahu, J Valentine; H Hunt, S Moore, R Blake; S Hockings, A Kanaar; R Brown, M Chapman, L Tomiki. Replacements: L Burgess for Valentine (12-17) mins; J Fuimaoano for Kanaar (12 to 16 mins); G Holmes for Hunt (half-time); A Ashley Cooper for Graham (45 mins); C Lyons for Halangahu (48 mins); T Egan for Kanaar (51 mins); Burgess for Valentine (68 mins); Fuimaoano for Brown (61 mins); L Holmes for Moore (71 mins).

Referee: B Lawrence (New Zealand).