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After their previous disappointing showing against the Japanese team, the head coach told his Ireland squad to step up their performance.

Ireland responded right away.

The Irish side had struggled in the final stages against New Zealand and required most of the match to find their rhythm versus Japan.

Nevertheless, against the Wallabies, they started strongly, with the talented back shining most prominently during a comprehensive triumph that represented Ireland's finest display this year.

In his first test match appearance at the number 15 position, the player scored a hat-trick, competed brilliantly for aerial challenges and performed outstandingly against the nation of his birth.

"Look, I've had a fairly challenging period with injuries really," Hansen commented.

"I missed being in this squad, I know there's much discussion about me not exactly being born here and I didn't grow up here, but I adore this group and this feels like family.

"Whenever I get to represent for the national team it's a privilege, if you fail to deliver a performance you might not get that opportunity again.

"My whole focus this period was to take the field and do what I could do."

Manager declared: 'Excellent athletes don't need justifications'

After twenty-eight appearances on the flank, the player was entrusted the number 15 position for the first time with multiple players injured.

For him, it was essentially a case of picking up where he finished during the summer.

The experienced player had been in superb condition before injury ended his aspiration of making the Test team.

Having come back recently, he suffered a foot problem that made him unavailable for earlier matches.

The coach had indicated that Hansen was especially motivated and these proved not empty statements as the former provincial player gave his coach a positive team headache for future matches.

"Well my first thoughts were, 'You better play excellently in those two colored boots!'," commented the coach, alluding to the player's choice to wear different boots.

"Actually I believed that was appropriate but it seems Hansen just made that personally regardless. So he's drawn attention to himself before he's even begun.

"I said to him before the match, 'Excellent players don't need justifications, they can get on with it and just play naturally, you can win the player of the game if you choose,' and he responded, 'Yeah, I agree.'

"Therefore he's that type of performer, he trains well, he's got a excellent attitude to understand his detail and thus that's why he fitted right into the team and he was able to be himself due to that."

The player's performance also received praise from the opposing manager, who stated he was the "exceptional Australian player" on the evening.

"I thought he was outstanding, his knowledge was evident to the fore," said the former national manager.

"Regrettably, Hansen was probably the best Australian performer on the field. He's got a excellent ability and he's such a good competitor."

When asked about what enables the player a good option at full-back, Farrell added: "Showing up in the middle of the pitch is a trait that he demonstrates from the flank anyway, but I suppose he's better in place for that frequently.

"The player's aerial work was brilliant, wasn't it? I believed we persisted of doing the correct approach and that was placing the ball back on them to gain field position.

"Why that was the correct strategy to do is since it's the likes of Hansen who was securing the possessions returned, and additional players, so [it's] pretty satisfying."

Outside Hansen, there were numerous encouraging aspects for Farrell.

Sam Prendergast was excellent on his return to the number 10 jersey, the set piece and line-out functioned smoothly and different player did not look uncomfortable in his debut appearance in the front row.

But possibly most pleasing for the manager was the team framing the game with multiple impressive spells.

The player's first couple of scores occurred in the first eleven minutes while other teammates registered in the closing stages after the opposition had scored, ensuring the home team finished on a positive note.

"I thought we truly let ourselves go and approached the match right from the beginning," said Farrell.

"The way we managed various aspects during the match, particularly the opposition responding just before half-time and reorganizing ourselves and giving a performance like we achieved in the later stages, I believed as far as territory and being across the majority of our game in that second half was really pleasing."

The strength of the Springboks are next up for Ireland, in what could be considered as an informal decider to the previous season's drawn two-Test contest on rival soil.

The coach's side will require to attain another standard to defeat the back-to-back title holders, but the recent defeat of the Wallabies was a significant step in the correct direction after an uninspiring start to their autumn campaign.