The Wallabies are using the pain of a heartbreaking loss to Bledisloe as motivation for Saturday’s second Test at Eden Park.
Dave Rennie’s men went down after the siren against the All Blacks in Melbourne, with an 80th-minute try from Jordie Barrett that sealed the 39-37 victory.
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The decision to concede a scrum for wasting time with 90 seconds remaining was fresh in the players’ minds, eager to learn from it and move on.
“The disappointment in the dressing rooms was great right after the game. The feeling was that we thought we played a great game and showed a lot of character, a connection to work our way back into the game,” props master Allan Alaalatoa told reporters.
“There’s definitely been disappointment over the past few days but we sat down as a group and with the coaching staff to review Sunday’s game and got a great understanding of how we can improve, especially looking ahead to this week at Eden Park.
“The guys definitely have a lot of confidence and the energy has been great so far. The lads are looking forward to a tough friendly… We’ve been looking at this moment and seeing how we can improve, not only there (in the final minutes) but also in our gameplay throughout the game.
“I’ve never been part of a rugby game where that has happened but what we’ve learned is that we have to be better at making those decisions along with other leaders on the field at this time.”
Center Lalakai Foketi played a crucial role in the finish, winning the turnover that gave the Wallabies the penalty down their line as he yelled at flyhalf Bernard Foley before the whistle blew.
“There was a personal shift there at the end, so from a defender’s perspective we had the same people out there and felt like we had a chance to win the game there. We were so far from the referee and the crowd went mad, we couldn’t hear anything,” he recalls of the final moments of the test.
“’Nard (Foley) looked at the forward group huddled together and they were just preparing their call when we got the penalty and what we were going to do. I just think personal change and Bernard figured out who was on the field and what calls we made on our next move which was to kick it out.
The Waratah believe they must ‘capture’ disappointment at the mathematically still possible rugby championship with a bonus points victory and Argentina’s win.
“I think you watch the game and everyone around is disappointed, we just have to take advantage of that and bring it to New Zealand,” explained Foketi.
“Any opportunity to put on the gold jersey is incredible and if I get the chance this weekend I want to repay the faith and faith in this group.
“They have great centers in the group, unfortunately some are injured but I want to continue what they have been doing.”
