Ireland v Australia Match quotes: We'll never fully know the depths and efforts he went through to be here, nor, one suspects, the pain he might once again be playing through at this World Cup. But as ever, it doesn't show.

Keith Wood will be damned if next Sunday is his last game. Sure, the bald dome makes him stand out, but you only have to hear how the decibel levels rose highest for his name when the teams were read out before the match. Everybody knows he gives his heart and soul, and if ever there was a big-game player, he is it.

A rendition of The Fields Of Athenry having just abated, the way he ducked into and through two tackles to give Ireland go-forward ball metres from the Australian line in the lengthy preamble to a Brian O'Driscoll drop-goal to make it 17-16 was simply astonishing. He sets the standards and demands them. If only he'd get to win a few more of these big ones.

"To run them that close is not such a great achievement. The great achievement in rugby is when you come away with a win at the end of a game," said Wood.

He was a vital leader too, staying in Paddy O'Brien's ears and eyes, especially with regard to the scrums, as much as Australia's George Gregan did.

Wood's performance was also highlighted by an Irish lineout which won all 21 of its own throws, as well as five of Australia's. The Irish lineout, as Australia coach Eddie Jones said afterwards, is amongst the very best in Test rugby. Its performance on Saturday, as well as the pack's in general, was a further tribute to the modest Niall O'Donovan.

"Niall O'Donovan is doing a very good job. He is assiduously rebuilding our play, getting in huge amount of work and analysis," said Wood. "Guys are getting more mature and playing a little bit better. But you must be setting the bar and your standards all the time. I said from the start of the World Cup we need to play better and better because the opposition is getting tougher and the pressure is higher.

"I think you do get better from playing at this level, from playing week to week," he added. "Personally I was very tired after the Pumas game. I was pretty shook and it took me a couple of days to get over it. I felt much better today for having that game under my belt."

His demand to jump higher, run harder, tackle bigger even extends to the remarkable Paul O'Connell. "I thought we played well but I think there is still more to come from some of the players. Paul O'Connell played very well tonight. His star is rising yet I expect even more from him before this tournament is over for us, which I hope will be for another few weeks."

On another key component in Ireland's lineout, Simon Easterby, Wood said: "The amount of work that guy gets through is absolutely frightening. We have slightly different stats than those rattled off at the end of a game and he does so much unseen work, it's scary how far ahead he is of the other players."

When O'Driscoll landed that drop-goal to cut Ireland's deficit to 16-17, there seemed to be an irresistible force about their growing momentum, something O'Sullivan accepted yesterday.

"Definitely a game that got away from us," he said. "I thought we had Australia on the back foot for long periods of the second half. They defended pretty well to be fair to them, but they had to work very hard. I felt with 10 minutes to go we were going to take it. I felt that energy in the team, I felt it myself, and I'm disappointed it didn't happen."

The Irish coach was also disappointed with descriptions of the Irish as plucky. "It's a bit of a put- down. I thought it was a very good performance by a bloody good Irish team. George Gregan gave us credit for not allowing them to play, and credit to him for that."

The Wallaby camp was singing much the same tune yesterday, when Elton Flatley revealed what Gregan had said to his players when they formed a huddle after the full-time whistle. "George said it's a good result when you get a win against a very good Test team in a match in the World Cup. So enjoy the win."

Similarly, Eddie Jones commented: "We're not happy with the performance but Ireland played bloody well. They played very well. They got stuck in at the tackle and and their big names played well. Wood was outstanding in the second half and O'Driscoll played by far his best game of the tournament. They are a very good side who played very well and we should be giving them credit for their performance."

Of Ireland's chances against France, Flatley said: "I think they can beat France. On their day, they're a world-class team. I think they'll go alright against France."

O'Sullivan was incensed by the couple of late calls by Paddy O'Brien which went against his team, most notably the penalty against Marcus Horan for boring in, when it was not conclusive Al Baxter wasn't just as guilty, his body having hit the dirt first.

Discussing the replacement of Ronan O'Gara with David Humphreys, O'Sullivan explained: "You're talking about a world-class outhalf coming off the bench who's been watching the game. Both these guys have come off the bench and turned games on their heads. They're sitting on the bench often getting a better picture of the game. I can talk to them as well, which is often very hard when you talk to a player who's running on adrenalin, getting the hell knocked out of him and trying to run a game plan.

"It was very simple to David, put it in behind them, get into the strike zone and if you get a chance cork one . . . ," said O'Sullivan, who concluded: "eighteen inches away from a great victory."