On any other day, Wales would have surely won.
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Neither side managed a try.
And wing Drew Mitchell said: “We have been working on those situations in training, and we have the belief to get through those situations”.
The mantra under coach Michael Cheika’s year-long tenure at the Wallabies has been about building up belief. “They were a player or two down and any team would have backed themselves to go over”, he said.
The game before that, out there, we performed extremely well and could easily have come away with a win. We had to show a different skin.
During a remarkable seven-minute period in the second half, the Wallabies were reduced to 13 men and withstood wave after wave of Welsh attack on their line – three times denying attacking raids by holding attackers up over the tryline.
“What I do know is that Vern Cotter is a very clever coach”, he said.
Wales’s captain Sam Warburton has defended his decision to turn down a number of goal kicking opportunities that could have cost his side victory in their encounter against Australia. “It is not complicated”.
Australia’s 15-6 victory over Wales in the World Cup on Saturday took them to 11 straight and often thrilling wins over the Welsh.
Scotland have beaten Australia in two of their last three meetings and Wales overcame South Africa the last time the teams met – albeit after a 16-game losing streak – but the southern hemisphere teams are on a roll.
“It was highly stressful, I won’t lie”, said one of the standouts of their epic defence Adam Ashley-Cooper, as he and the other Wallabies began two days of much-needed rest before preparing to face Scotland in the quarter-finals next Sunday. “I was pleased it was a tryless performance against one of the best teams in the world”, added Warburton.
Warburton admitted that the Wallabies were made of stern stuff. “We’ve got to match them physicality upfront and scramble in the scrumhalf and if you can do this, you have a good competition against them”. “We were hungry for that try”.
Cheika remained cautious at the prospect of a quarter final against the Scots.
“Obviously, there are slightly easier routes to the final, but that is the path we are on and we will have to front up for it”.
In describing Australia’s success in shutting out Wales while playing with 13 men, the Wales captain and coach didn’t hold back. “They haven’t had a great 12 months, but when they have their backs to the wall and have been criticised, they have shown great character to come back”, Gatland said.
“They were throwing their body on the line”.
The margins were small as three times Welsh players got across the line, only for an Australian arm to hold the ball up on each occasion.
And his loss is a particular blow heading towards next weekend’s quarter-final clash against twice world champions South Africa.
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Australia’s fly half Kurtley Beale (L) is tackled by Wales’ back row forward Ross Moriarty (R) during a Pool A match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup between Wales and Australia at Twickenham Stadium, southwest London, on October 10, 2015.
