Michael Cheika
Australia coach Michael Cheika insisted that defeat by Wales never crossed his mind despite his side trailing by a point going into the final eight minutes of a game the Wallabies eventually edged 33-28.
The teams had been level at 21-all after a see-saw first-half, but Wales were awarded a penalty try in the second half which saw them regain the lead after a Bernard Foley penalty.
But the Wallabies stuck to their task and the flawless Foley struck a sweet drop-goal to retake the lead and then a late penalty to extend his team’s winning streak over Wales to 10.
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“I never think we’re going to lose unless we’re well behind in the scoring,” said Cheika, only in position since the shock October 22 resignation of Ewen McKenzie in the fall-out from the Kurtley Beale text picture scandal.
“The way we prepare, I’d like to think tight games, if we work hard, we’ll always get them going our way.
“Saying that, drop-goals are definitely not in our play books. It was Bernard stepping back and taking the shot and he delivered.”
Cheika, the only coach to have won the European Cup (Leinster, 2009) and Super Rugby title (Waratahs, 2014), said he hoped fans “enjoyed the rollercoaster it was”.
“There’s plenty to improve on, we’re not claiming that we had a cracker,” he added, with his team playing France next Saturday followed by Ireland and England on consecutive weekends.
“We’ve had just two weeks of getting our heads together and playing a new system, the guys getting into that, defensively as well, not just attack.
“What we’re hoping is that on this trip we can build that while at the same time playing good enough rugby to grab a win here and there.”
Cheika was also quick to dismiss the relevance of the result with the two teams drawn together in the same pool at next year’s World Cup.
“Honestly, the history is irrelevant in any game,” he said.
“You’ve just go to play every game for what it is, not worry about history or the future, just look at every day.”
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper was left elated by the close win, praising his team’s ability to deliver at the death.
“It was a really energetic game for both teams,” the skipper said. “But to come back at the end and fight our way out shows we’re in good shape.
“It’s nice to be singing the song. That’s two in a row under the new regime,” he said in reference to their 40-36 victory over the Barbarians last weekend in a non-cap game.
“The Welsh are a good team, it went down to the wire, they have attacking threats all over the field and it was nice to come out on top of a quality field.”
Looking ahead to the build-up to the World Cup, Cheika added: “We can improve, no doubt about it, not to mention we’ve got some artillery at home to come into the side that can add to our depth.
“And we can improve on our tour here physically, rugby-wise and mentally, and we’ll be competitive.”
The victory, he said was “totally unique – we won, it’s great, the guys worked hard and the next focus is beating the French, which will be no mean feat the Stade de France”.
“If we start thinking about that game there [against Wales in the World Cup] we’re only going to lose the games in between. We’re just going to concentrate on playing well, doing our bit and when that game comes we’ll do our best again.”