It was a relieved Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen who admitted on Saturday night - after their thrilling 19-18 victory over South Africa to clinch their first-ever Tri-Nations title - that the manner in which it was achieved was probably not what they would have liked.

Stirling Mortlock slotted a last-minute penalty from an acute angle to bury South Africa's dreams of concluding the series on a high note with two wins. However, Macqueen stated the win was the most important thing. "I think teams make their own luck and we turned over a lot of ball today. That is uncharacteristic of this side to do that. I personally thought we could have nailed the game halfway through the first half.

"We haven't been playing our normal, tight game, but having said that, it often doesn't work out when a side makes it difficult for you. I thought South Africa's defence was exceptional - they've obviously done their homework and we found it difficult to penetrate. I think we only had two or three breaks in the first half and that's way down on any other game we've played this year.

"But all in all, it was a very tough game - probably an ugly game to watch - but from my point of view, I'm very happy with the result."

The wily coach expressed his satisfaction with the team's character. "I'm very pleased with the team - I think they never give up and always hang in there until the end. I am glad we had someone else there who could take the step up and take the pressure kick."

Captain John Eales, who was the hero when he slotted the winning kick in the Wellington Test against the All Blacks, said he never thought of taking the kick himself. "If Stirling was on the field, he would have taken that kick and would have got it too. He's certainly proved that today. It was a tough kick under an awful lot of pressure."

Eales said he didn't panic when Braam van Straaten handed his team the lead with a long distance penalty with only a few minutes to go. "One of the hallmarks of this team is that we knew we had time to go - that never-say-die approach. We've been on the receiving end of narrow losses many times before. This year we've been on the right side of a couple of those results, so we all knew we had to get down to their territory - we weren't going to win it from our own half. We managed to put the pressure on them and that was great."

Mortlock said that penalty made up for the missed one in the Super 12 final for the Brumbies against the Crusaders. "I've been in that situation a couple of times and had a good feeling about this one. In fact, I went up to John and told him this is my kick. I just told myself repeatedly this one is going to go over."

Eales said that while he was elated about their first Tri-Nations title, the World Cup is still the most desirable trophy in rugby. "The World Cup is the ultimate in rugby. That chance comes along only once in four years. That was our goal for four years, to win the World Cup. You get the chance to win the Tri-Nations every year.

"But we haven't won it before and therefore it is a very special moment. This year our focus has been on the Tri-Nations. We had to win the series and created our own fortunes in a lot of ways as well. So it's extremely satisfying, but I think the pedestal of rugby is always going to be the World Cup."