Nations Championship, Round One: Australia 31 Ireland 33Okay, perhaps this Nations Championship might work after all. Following on from where the Christchurch thriller between the All Blacks and France left off, the Wallabies and Ireland treated a packed house to another epic which went down to the wire, ending in a missed penalty for the hosts.It was almost beyond belief. When Thomas Clarkson plundered a try from close-range in the 77th minute, it was the seventh time the lead had changed hands. Yet the drama was not done. With The Fields of Athenry reverberating around the near 42,000-capacity Allianz Stadium as the Wallabies had one last attack from deep, Bundee Aki was judged to have gone off his feet at the breakdown. Mighty Australian captain Harry Wilson signalled a shot at goal, which replacement outhalf Ben Donaldson lined up from just inside the 10-metre line, five metres in from the right touchline. As soon as the ball left the kicking tee the many thousand Irish fans behind the goal were cheering as the shot maintained a straight course wide of the posts. So Ireland could heave a collective sigh of relief, before Dan Sheehan collecting the Lansdowne Cup as they extended their record-winning run in this fixture to six victories while launching their Nations Championship campaign with a five-point haul.Referee Ben O’Keeffe speaks to Ireland captain Dan Sheehan and Wallabies captain Harry Wilson. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images Considering how rusty these teams were, the entertainment, ambition and slickness of the attacking rugby was remarkable. They bagged five tries apiece and it says much about the quality of the handling that the first scrum was half an hour in.Ireland just about deserved this triumph, if only for the daring to roll with the punches before opting to run scrum ball with the first-half clock in the red, Jamison Gibson-Park dotting down to trim Australia’s interval lead to 24-19.The Wallabies are becoming a very good side, but so too is this Irish team, as only a side with immense belief could have found a way to win this game. Heroes abounded, and their bravery was typified by Sam Prendergast, whose goal-kicking was ultimately the difference.An hour before kick-off it was confirmed that Robert Baloucoune had been withdrawn due to a tight hamstring, meaning a late call-up for Jimmy O’Brien.The 29-year-old has been in excellent form, but the late reshuffle, coupled with the loss of Tommy O’Brien to a groin injury sustained in Leinster’s URC final win last month, left Ireland a little short on pace.But more impactful in the first-half was the combination of footwork and physicality on both sides of the ball, the Wallabies having more success at the gain line. They bore all the hallmarks of a Joe Schmidt team, their close-passing connections and support play, coupled with some ferocious accuracy at the breakdown, generated a tempo that Ireland struggled to live with.Australia's Carter Gordon watches on during a scrum. Photograph: Mark Kolbe Photography/Getty Images Carter Gordon pulled the strings with his running threat, speed and passing range, while their big carriers Rob Valetini, Len Ikitau and Joseph Suaalii kept making inroads. Ireland’s defence was pierced far too regularly and exposed out wide – in the first-half hour Australia had made 11 line breaks to one, and the missed tackle count was 12-1 in Australia’s favour.The hosts also rumbled Ireland’s lineout a couple of times, most tellingly on Dan Sheehan’s first throw when, under pressure from Harry Wilson, who seemed to be everywhere, the ball slipped through Joe McCarthy’s fingers. A multiphase attack ensued, and with a penalty advantage Josh Canham pulled the ball back and Carter’s long pass was well held by Jock Campbell for Dylan Pietsch to score untouched.Ireland’s response was swift, Sheehan hitting Cian Prendergast at the tail of a lineout to launch a maul which earned a penalty for the Wallabies collapsing. Sam Prendergast kicked to the corner, and again Sheehan hit the outhalf’s older brother, who scored a couple of phases later after good footwork by McCloskey.Cian Prendergast wins a lineout for Ireland. Photograph: Matt King/Getty Images After Gibson-Park’s monster box kick was called fractionally short of a 50-22, the Wallabies reclaimed a Lonergan kick and Gordon stepped Josh van der Flier in midfield. Fourteen phases later, Gordon and Ikitau linked for Campbell to score out wide.Ireland turned down a penalty at goal to draw level by instead opting for the corner, where Van der Flier making inroads off the maul. From an ensuing penalty for offside, Sheehan opted for the tap-and-go and popped no-look pass for Van der Flier to score. Sam Prendergast hooked the kickable conversion but Ireland still led 12-10.Not for long, of course. Jeremy Williams won a penalty in the jackal when Ringrose, who looked like he was affected by a shoulder stinger, couldn’t effect the clear-out before Valetini stepped inside Gibson-Park and the 12-phase attack ended with Canham plundering the try.When Wilson tackled McCarthy and Allan Alaalatoa lined him up, it summed up the game’s momentum at that point. Worse followed for Ireland when Ikitau applied pressure with his line speed and Sam Prendergast’s intended short pass was picked off by Max Jorgensen. He was chased down but offloaded for Lonergan’s try to make it 24-12. The Wallabies would have pushed their lead further had it not been for Hugo Keenan’s textbook tackle on Suaalii before Wilson’s offload on the edge eluded Jorgensen.A reprieved Ireland opted for another clever launch play off a scrum inside their own 22 with the clock in overtime and worked their way up field with patience. McCloskey straightened the line well and O’Brien kept the move alive on the left before Furlong pulled the ball back for Ringrose to link with Jack Conan. His half-break and clever inside pass gave Gibson-Park an untouched run to the line with the classic scrumhalf support line.Ireland's Hugo Keenan comes up against Australia's Harry Wilson. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Sam Prendergast’s conversion brought the deficit down to 24-19 for the break and within six minutes of the restart Ireland took the lead when the Wallabies twice conceded penalties at the lineout. Another Sheehan tap ended with Keenan scoring off Ringrose’s short pass, Sam Prendergast’s loop around the back acting as a decoy.Even so, scrumhalf Tate McDermott did what he does best, tapping a five-metre scrum penalty and bouncing Conan before scoring amid a plethora of defenders, Gordon’s conversion making it 31-26.It then looked as if Ireland had regained the lead, but a maul try from Sheehan was ruled out for obstruction by James Ryan. The lock’s annoyance multiplied when he later knocked on a pass from Gibson-Park under the posts as Ireland were pressing hard again.It was a measure of Ireland’s unwavering ambition when they ran back Ben Donaldson’s long-range missed penalty from the right touchline after it drifted wide. What’s more, Sam Prendergast nailed a penalty from halfway into the corner, and unrelenting pressure yielded penalties galore while the Wallabies also had to contend with a yellow card for Lachan Shaw.On for Sheehan, Ronán Kelleher tapped a penalty and charged, before Clarkson picked up sharply and drove low under Wilson’s tackle. Typical of his brave performance all night, Sam Prendergast then nailed a tricky conversion about 20 metres to the left of the posts for the two-point lead. Cue one last Wallabies’ drive from deep and the dramatic twist at the death with Donaldson’s missed conversion. Some game.SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 MINS: Pietsch try 5-0; 9: C Prendergast try, S Prendergast con 5-7; 13: Campbell try 10-7; 18: Van der Flier try 10-12; 23: Canham try, Gordon con 17-12; 26: Lonergan try, Gordon con 24-12; 40+1: Gibson-Park try, Prendergast con 24-19; Half-time 24-19; 46: Keenan try, Prendergast con 24-26; 52: McDermott try, Gordon con 31-26; 76: Clarkson try, Prendergast con 31-33AUSTRALIA: J Campbell; M Jorgensen, JA Suaalii, L Ikitau, D Pietsch; C Gordon, R Lonergan; A Bell, J Nasser, A Alaalatoa; J Canham, J Williams; R Baletini, F McReight, H Wilson (capt). Replacements: T McDermott for Lonergan (33 mins), T Tupou for Alaalatoa, B Paenga-Amosa for Nasser, J Slipper for Bell (all 54), B Donaldson for Gordon (57), L Shaw for Canham (58), T Wright for Campbell, T Hooper for Valetini (both 66).IRELAND: H Keenan; J O’Brien, G Ringrose, S McCloskey, J Osborne; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; T O’Toole, D Sheehan (capt), T Furlong; J McCarthy, J Ryan; C Prendergast, J Van der Flier, J Conan. Replacements: N Timoney for C Prendergast, T Berine for Van der Flier, T Clarkson for Furlong, J Loughman for O’Toole (all 51 mins), C Frawley for Osborne, B Aki for Ringrose (both 58), O’Toole for Loughman (59), R Kelleher for Sheehan (60).Referee: B O’Keeffe (NZ).