Say it quietly, but the Wallabies’ win over Springboks is cause for hope

Beat the world champions again this week and the Bledisloe Cup is looking good against an out-of-sorts All Blacks outfit

Out-muscled by England last month and out-coached by Argentina a fortnight ago, the Wallabies restored pride in the old gold jersey at the weekend, rebounding from their recent 48-17 shellacking in San Juan to whip the world champion Springboks 25-17 in Adelaide. With Los Pumas upsetting the All Blacks 25-18 in Christchurch, Australia’s window to the Rugby Championship and a first Bledisloe Cup in two decades remains tantalisingly ajar.

Hope can be a dangerous thing for Wallabies fans. But Saturday’s performance instilled it. After losing the first 25 minutes of their last five starts, Australia began well for a change, racing to a lead on the back of fast hands and fierce running. An old head in Nic White found youthful legs in Fraser McReight after 62 seconds to draw first blood and signal the intent. Noah Lolesio iced the try then slotted a penalty to make it a robust 10-0 buffer.