Ireland's fourth victory Down Under was on the cards after Neil Best's 50th minute try put them four points up but the Wallaby attack had a potent look about it all night and they were always going to score tries given the right ball. They got it too, with Mark Gerrard, Greg Holmes, George Gregan and Cameron Shepherd all crossing the line before the end, and a weary Ireland stumbled towards their holidays with a few regrets for company.

"All three tests were particularly hard as we knew they would be and they took their toll, " captain Brian O'Driscoll said afterwards.

"I think the legs started to get heavy after three weeks of test rugby. We felt we had an opportunity to come down and claim a scalp but it shows we have some way to go yet."

But they shouldn't be too hard on themselves. For the third week in a row they had opportunities to win a test in the southern hemisphere and their self-flagellating should be tempered with the fact that they have moved their game on considerably this season. Once again in this game, they were ambitious in their outlook, looking to beat the Wallabies rather than contain them and, for the third week in a row, they showed incredible mental strength to come from behind to create a potential winning position for themselves. The defence, especially in the first hour, was also quite good under pressure. But what they will worry about is how their normally supreme lineout coughed up six balls over the course of the game, and why their skill levels still appear to struggle under intense pressure.

Added to all that, they continue to start slowly although this time it was on the scoreboard rather than in general play. After O'Gara had declined a kick at goal to go for a line-out maul that didn't work out, Stirling Mortlock kicked his side ahead with a 14th minute penalty and following some intense Australian pressure, with their Steve Larkham-directed backline looking extremely dangerous, the home side made the breakthrough they'd been threatening.

Chris Latham was the scorer, running a nice line off a Mortlock pass wide left, but a dummy run by Mark Chisholm had taken out the Irish defence two phases earlier and, as such, created the space for the full-back to pierce the defensive line.

Still, the Wallabies deserved to be in front and Ireland were left to chisel their way back into the game with an O'Gara penalty after a couple of around-the-fringe breaks from Paul O'Connell and Gordon D'Arcy.

Mortlock and O'Gara exchanged penalties before half-time to give the home side an 11-3 advantage at the break, but Ireland should have been closer than that.

From a line-out maul five yards out just before half time, Australia were in serious trouble but the move was cut to a halt when Flannery ran into one of his own men from close range. It was a huge pity and a significant moment in the game.

But it did serve to fire Ireland up for the start of the second-half, as they crossed for two tries in the opening 10 minutes. The first try came courtesy of a dodgy looking O'Gara chip to Shane Horgan on the right touchline but the winger made wine out of water, grabbing the ball Gaelic football-style and palming it off to David Wallace, who in turn found his supporting out-half on his left shoulder.

Ireland looked hot at this point and after a turnover on Wallaby attack ball, they showed great patience to construct a magnificent try.

O'Connell and Peter Stringer took the ball up initially, Flannery made the key break on half-way with Girvan Dempsey, Andrew Trimble and Denis Leamy all getting their hands on the ball before Neil Best dived over.

Fifteen points to 11 to the good, an Irish win was there for the taking but Australia went up through the gears as Ireland tired. Mark Gerrard ran through a gap between Neil Best and John Hayes to score under the posts, and the killer score came when Greg Holmes gobbled up a loose ball from the side of ruck on half-way and sprinted, amazingly for a prop, untouched to the line.

That effectively finished the game but in the final tenminutes Gregan and Shepherd both scored tries to put the home side well out of sight. It was harsh on Ireland but for the third week in a row they came up short.

SCORING SEQUENCE 14 minsMortlock pen, 3-0 22 mins Latham try, 8-0 28 mins O'Gara pen, 8-3 38 minsMortlock pen, 11-3 42 mins O'Gara try, 11-8 50 mins Best try, O'Gara con 11-15 55 mins Gerrard try, Mortlock con 18-15 60 mins Holmes try, Mortlock con 25-15 73 mins Gregan try 30-15 80 mins Shepherd try, Mortlock con 37-15