INTERNATIONAL NEWSONE TO go. One last effort. One last shot at redemption. Brian O'Driscoll has been through the ringer this season, on and off the pitch, while remaining a pillar of strength for team-mates and others alike, and has also somehow come through it all with the hunger for one last hurrah.

For the Ireland captain, as he reflected yesterday, run-ins with the Wallabies have produced a mixed bag.

"I haven't been on an Irish team that has won in Australian soil so we'll be doing our best to put that right," he says.

Amid the "memories of good days and some disappointment" he made his debut in Brisbane nine summers ago in a 46-10 defeat, since when he's been on the losing side three more times and the winning side twice, in the tryless, rain-drenched 18-9 win at Lansdowne Road in November 2002 and the 21-6 victory at the same venue in November 2006.

Yet his admiration for them is palpable, and meetings with them seem to float his boat.

"I've always said the Aussies are probably the best thinkers in the game," he says. "Certainly when you had a halfback pairing like (Stephen) Larkham and (George) Gregan, they were very, very smart and canny footballers.

"Now there are certainly guys like (Matt) Giteau and (Stirling) Mortlock who are of that mould; they're heads-up sort of rugby players and that's the way it should be done - identifying space and going after that - that's probably why they're often some of the best teams to watch - except when you're playing against them."

Ironically, his one try against them was in perhaps the most disappointing game, the 17-16 defeat in the final pool game of the 2003 World Cup, when victory would have sent Ireland to a quarter-final against Scotland rather than France.

Thus Saturday's game takes him back to the same Telstra Dome, this time with its roof closed: "You want to play in some of the great stadia in the world and it's certainly up there . . . Hopefully it will be a nice finish to what has been a very, very long season."

"It's nice to think that it will be a dry day and a day to express yourself, to run and pass. Certainly that's the way I was brought up to play the game and enjoy the game.

"I don't like having to chase kicks all day or crash the ball up or just setting targets.

"I want to do what I feel are some of the best parts of my game - take people on, and put people into space - and so it's nice to think we'll get the opportunity to do that."

The utter contrast in conditions makes it hard for O'Driscoll to compare this with last Saturday's Test: "Australia are going through a transitional period and like quite a few sides coming off the back of the World Cup. They'll be just looking to try and do the simple things well and play their way back into Test rugby after their disappointments at the World Cup.

"It will be as tough a Test as last week and the fact that this (Irish) team hasn't managed to win in Australia speaks volumes."

On Ireland's trek here two years ago, a wonderful length-of-the-pitch try completed by Neil Best brought Ireland back into the game at the start of the second half before they got swamped.

"I can't remember the scoreline but to be honest, (but) I'd certainly think the scoreline flattered Australia," says O'Driscoll.

"We were very much in the game with 20 to go and games like these hinge on moments of brilliance or an occasional mistake . . . Games at the highest level are about momentum and Australia had momentum.

"When we tried to chase the game, that's what opened it up all the more."

Although there must be a real fear the well will run dry at some point on Saturday, O'Driscoll says, "This tour is different in that this is only a two-Test tour - the freshness will still be there, hopefully.

"We had yesterday off and a bit of a blow-out at training, which was good. Certainly we got rid of any of the staleness that might have crept in.

"I'd like to think we'll be better-prepared physically and that we'll have a little bit more in the tank for this one and put in more of an 80-minute performance. So it will be a hugely tough contest but certainly one that all the boys are looking forward to, and especially to being able to play a bit of rugby - because that wasn't possible last weekend."