Irish hero concedes Wallabies were 'very unlucky'

Hugo Keenan hailed Ireland for digging in deep and never giving up, securing themselves a sixth straight win against the Wallabies after winning 31-33 in their Nations Series opener in Sydney.

Leinster full-back Keenan, 30, pointed out that the game could have gone either way until Australia’s Ben Donaldson missed a last-gasp long-range penalty which would have given the home side victory after Tom Clarkson’s late try edged the visitors ahead.

Instead, Ireland hung on in a game that saw both teams score five tries each, with the only difference being that Sam Prendergast recovered from a shaky start to the game and landed four conversions to keep his cool when it mattered the most.

Keenan was playing his first game for Ireland in over a year after a hip injury sidelined him after the Lions tour to Australia and then breaking his thumb in a pre-Six Nations camp in Portugal, and showed exactly what he has been missed by scoring one of Ireland’s tries.

“God, it was so tight, so intense, a proper Test match. But to be fair to the lads, we asked to make this crowd, these thousands in green, proud, and I think that’s exactly what we did.

“We never gave up. We dug in deep, and at the end of the day, it just came down to a kick, so hard luck to Australia. They were very unlucky. Could have gone either way.

“They’ve (Australia) got some unbelievable ball carriers, some unbelievable threats at the breakdown. And they’re a top-quality side. We obviously have come up against them a few times between autumn and the Lions.

“And we know what they can be like and how good they are. It was a proper Test match,” said Keenan who put in a superb first-half tackle on Joseph Sua’ali’i.