Ireland manager Sean Boylan found himself engulfed in a fusion of emotions following his side’s tingling one-point victory over Australia at the Subiaco Oval, Perth yesterday.

Delight was tempered with relief with a measure of apprehension thrown in as the focus now switches to the crucial second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday next.

“We’ll take the victory but football was the real winner here in Perth,” declared Boylan, “We’re only half-way there and we still have an awful lot of work to do if we are to win the series but I thought that the Ireland players brought great credit to themselves and to their country’s jersey. There’s not an Irishman nor Irish woman who would not feel a sense of pride in their endeavours. They showed great commitment and spirit from the outset and I’m proud of them”

The fact that the match was largely played out in a sporting manner devoid of any real malice or rancour - there were one or two questionable off-the-ball incidents, though - struck a particular chord with Boylan who had been insistent in the build-up that his players should keep their composure no matter what the circumstances.

In the event, they coped admirably with the presures.

There may have been occasions on which Ireland did not quite enjoy a measure of leniency from the referees but this was not certainly not an issue for Boylan in the aftermath of the match.

But the Ireland manager nonetheless did acknowledge that his team had endured a close call against their resilient hosts who made up considerable ground in the vital last quarter after having been in arrears by 41-28 at the threequarter stage.

“We won by a point but we could just as easily have lost. Australia came back at us strongly even though they were a man down and we just managed to hold out. This underlines to us the enormity of the task we face in the second Test,” declared Boylan.

Ireland, he added. had found themselves “on the edge” but had held their nerve.

“It gets very tight on the edge, of course. But every player did himself justice and we must now seek to build on our slender advantage the next day - that’s the real deal as far as we are concerned,” he said.

And in expressing his satisfaction with the level of support Ireland had received, he stressed that the team were determined to show their appreciation of the fans’ efforts by going on to try and win the series.

“We knew how important winning was going into this first game. It was lovely to see so many Irish supporters at the match and we are very thankful to them. Now the hope is that they will be out in force again next week. We could certainly be doing with their encouragement in what willbe a demanding environment in Melbourne,” said Boylan.

Ireland will leave for Melbourne tomorrow and will begin prepartions for episode two there.

Boylan is currently taking stock of knocks that were picked up in yesterday’s contest and is confident that everyone will be fit for Friday’s showdown.