Ireland started the Nations Championship by getting away with one, and that is not a bad habit when the season is this young.

Andy Farrell's side beat Australia 33-31 at Allianz Stadium in Sydney after Tom Clarkson scored a last gasp converted try and Sam Prendergast added the kick. Ben Donaldson still had a chance to win it for the Wallabies with a penalty on the hooter, but his effort went wide.

That is the kind of Test that leaves coaches with a split face. One side relieved. One side already reaching for the review laptop.

Ireland survived the first storm

Australia did not look like a side waiting politely for the new competition to begin. Irish Rugby reported that the Wallabies ran in four tries inside the opening 27 minutes, with Carter Gordon, Len Ikitau and Joseph Aukuso Suaalii central to a sharp Australian attack.

Ireland were 24-19 down at half time after tries from Cian Prendergast, Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson Park kept them in range. That mattered. The match could have gone from problem to punishment before the break.

Instead, Ireland stayed close enough to make Australia play the final minutes with fear in the legs.

Prendergast got the last word

The late pressure fell on Sam Prendergast after Clarkson forced his way over. That conversion was not a tidy footnote. It was the difference between Ireland leaving Sydney with a famous escape and leaving with a long list of regrets.

The Irish Times reported Cian Prendergast hailing his brother's match winning display. The family line is lovely, but the rugby point is sharper. Ireland needed a young out half to land a hard kick with the match on the table, and he did.

There were rough edges. Ireland's defence was opened too often early on. The control was not clean enough. Farrell said Ireland were not at their best, which is manager speak for plenty of clips will hurt in review.

The Nations Championship has its first Irish pulse

Ireland's next stop is Japan in Newcastle. They go there with four points, a warning and a useful bit of evidence.

This group can win ugly. It can absorb a bad opening half away from home. It can find a final act when the match looks gone.

That does not make Ireland polished. It makes them dangerous.

Reporting: NZ Herald, Irish Rugby, The Irish Times.