That 42-37 victory had the whole rugby world talking about it being a turning point for the Wallabies as they build towards next year’s clash with the British & Irish Lions and a home World Cup in 2027.
But scrum half Tate McDermott says none of Joe Schmidt’s players are getting ahead of themselves as they know just how quickly rugby fortunes can change in the current climate.
A first success at Twickenham since 2015 may have boosted morale, and kept alive the dreams of possibly completing a Grand Slam tour for the first time since 1984, but McDermott pointed to what happened the last time they won a game.
That came in the first of two games in Argentina in The Rugby Championship matches in the summer. The Wallabies dug deep to beat the Pumas 20-19 in the first game but then crumbled 67-27 in the second Test.
“We’ve had a couple of good wins this year – flashback to Argentina where we knocked them off in the first game and a week later, we’re a completely different team,” said McDermott.
“The group in general has a feeling that repeatability is the biggest thing for us to move forward and we’ve got to make sure of that.
“Backing up our performance against the English is crucial for us. It’s a fresh page and while last week was a great moment, it’s irrelevant because we’ve got a fierce Welsh team in our face and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready for them.”
Max Jorgensen’s runaway try in the corner in the last play at Twickenham was the fifth scored by the Wallabies against England, but they also conceded five tries themselves. Defence has therefore been a work-on ahead of facing Wales.
“We know that we conceded far too many points and quite often in Test matches, if you concede 37 points, you don’t win the game,” added McDermott, who was used as a replacement a week ago.
“We were skilful and composed enough in the end to get the win against England but we know that the Welsh are going to be looking at how England scored those points and we’ve got to make sure we plug those holes pretty quickly.
“You’re always wary of a Welsh side as you know on their day what they’re going to bring regardless of how they’re going – an incredibly strong set-piece and a good defensive pressure game.
