For Ireland's high achievers, eyes already turning towards NZ in November

“Wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time?”

As the Irish players summoned up one last bit of energy to express their appreciation to the massive gathering of Irish supporters congregated behind the goal posts where they had defended so gallantly in the closing stages of an epic contest, the spoken words of that Van Morrison classic “Coney Island” came flooding into my head.

In a test series that delivered three breathtaking tests at the end of a season of heroic triumph, Ireland somehow found a way to withstand a second half Australian onslaught that would have buried most teams. Not this one as Ireland refused to be beaten.