Irish hound Aussies silly

There are no prizes for guessing which team the Springboks were hoping to avoid in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. A hint: they wear gold jerseys.

Ireland (6) 15Australia (6) 6

But after Ireland's shock 15-6 upset over the Wallabies last night that is who the Boks look most likely to face on Sunday October 9 in Wellington.

After comfortably dispatching Fiji last night, the Boks now need only to overcome Samoa to win Pool D, and if Ireland beat Italy then the Wallabies will finish runners-up in Pool C and play South Africa in a quarterfinal.

It's hard to know whom the Boks would've been cheering for last night.

On one hand, the Boks were beaten twice by Australia this year, in Sydney and Durban, and the Wallabies would feel they have an edge over John Smit's men. On the other are Ireland, who South Africa defeated 23-21 in Dublin late last year.

But looking at the way Ireland played, South Africa might be happier to play the Tri-Nation's champions.

Ireland's victory was the result that this RWC needed to set it alight.

For all the hints of an upset in the first two weeks of the tournament, up until last night the only upset of any note was 14th-ranked Canada beating 12th-ranked Tonga.

But last night Ireland changed all that as the eighth-ranked side in the world, who had lost four of their past five games and struggled to beat the USA in their previous start, were simply too passionate for the Wallabies.

It was described later by coach Declan Kidney as "one of the great results in Irish rugby history", though captain Brian O'Driscoll was more pragmatic: "Yes we won," he quipped, "but I don't see the Webb Ellis Cup sitting next to me."

Ireland led 9-6 with half an hour to go, thanks to two Johnny Sexton penalty goals and a drop goal to James O'Connor's two first-half penalties, with the large and very vocal Irish contingent in the crowd starting to dream.

But Ireland have led Australia before nearing the end of RWC matches, most notably in 1991 and again in 2003, but have always found a way to lose.

On this night, however, this Irish team would simply not be denied. Further penalties by replacement Ronan O'Gara in the 63rd and 71st minutes, sent the Irish, fans and players alike, into dreamland.

To win Ireland had to be at their very best for the full 80 minutes. They were that, and more.

They hounded Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper, with a posse of at least three Irish defenders hitting him within milliseconds every time he received the ball.

One moment in the second half when Irish flanker Sean O'Brien, among Ireland's very best, picked up Australian scrum half Will Genia and literally carried him backwards five metres, typified the Irish spirit.

One thing the Springboks will have closely noted, it was the Wallabies' old nemesis, the scrum, which was their ultimate undoing.

New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence found five scrum penalties against the Wallabies. In the end the penalties kicked from those infringements was the difference between the teams.