Australian captain hails 'formidable' Ireland

Australia captain Stirling Mortlock has hailed Ireland as a "very formidable" team.

The Wallabies were thumped 21-6 in gale-force conditions at Lansdowne Road on Sunday and Mortlock was impressed by the way Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara pulled the strings.

"I'd say Ireland are in good nick at the moment," he said. "During the summer tour they competed very well against the All Blacks and against us, although we pulled away in the end.

"I think they've got a very good line-out, they've got a pretty good set-piece and Ronan O'Gara steers their team around really well.

"Their midfield combination of O'Gara, Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy is excellent. They're a very formidable team."

Australia grumbled about the appalling conditions after the game but Mortlock admits his side must learn to adapt to all types of weather.

Their kicking game was inadequate and they were also outshone in attack where the Irish displayed remarkable skill levels in the harshest of environments.

"We didn't play like that because of a lack of trying to formulate game plans to play in those conditions," he said.

"The whole week we trained and prepared for really tough, windy conditions.

"The fact is that in Test match football there is a lot of pressure on your skill and technique.

"That's what those conditions do. We're not seasoned to playing that consistently.

"It is disappointing that we addressed it and we went out there with a clear intent of knowing what we had to do. We probably didn't implement it as well as we should have.

"It's not a mindset thing. We just have to get better at doing it and practising skill and execution under pressure and knowing what you've got to do in these conditions.

"You've got to simplify your game, hold onto the ball when you're going into the wind and make teams make tackles and grind away."