It was not only a morale-boosting win but Ireland’s first against Tri-Nations opposition in a World Cup and Ulster flanker Ferris believes there is plenty more to come.

"We didn't peak against Australia – there's definitely a lot more attacking ability to come from us," said 26-year-old Ferris, responsible for one of the highlights of the game when he pushed Will Genia back ten metres in the final stages of the first half.

"This wasn't a one-off performance, we knew this was brewing and we're glad it happened against Australia. We'll be targeting a big win over Russia now.

"Then we want a big win over Italy the weekend after that.

“If we keep playing like we did against Australia, hopefully we'll be able to maintain this and go further in the tournament.

“We're still taking it game by game – we said at the start of the World Cup we just want to get out of the group.

"Our performance against Australia has put us in a good position."