'Don't lose faith in us': Why Wallabies 'had a lot of belief' vs Wales

Australian try-scoring hero Mark Nawaqanitawase has praised the Wallabies’ “character and courage” after their incredible comeback win over Wales in Cardiff this morning.

The Wallabies were down against Wales, they were losing by a lot, but they certainly weren’t out of the fight just yet.

While the Cardiff crowd burst out into a frenzy after winger Rio Dyer extended the home sides lead to an incredible 19-points – before the successful conversion – the Wallabies didn’t panic.

Halfback Jake Gordon was seen calling his team together for a pep talk, which would either make or break a team who’d fallen short in some enthralling battles this month.

Flyhalf Ben Donaldson was seen in a slow-motion replay leading the team talk, as the superstars representing their nation watched on in spirited awe – although some appeared to be in shock.

The Wallabies found their feet shortly after as Nawaqanitawase crossed for his first try of the night just five minutes later, before scoring again shortly after.

It was the start of a 26-point onslaught from the visitors, as they fought valiantly for the once improbable victory that they rightly deserve after a month of agony and disappointment.

Speaking after the Test, player of the match Nawaqanitawase said the team “had a lot of belief” that they could fight their way back.

“Us boys had a lot of belief (that) we were right in there,” Nawaqanitawase said on the field post-game.

“Obviously a few things in the first half like discipline and a few carries that let us down but we showed enough character and courage to come back there in the second half.

“We were lucky to get the win in the end.”

It was a thrilling end to the Wallabies five-match spring tour which has delivered both excitement and disaster.

After winning their first Test of the Autumn Internationals by one-point against Scotland, the men in gold went on to lose their next three Tests by three points or less.

Australia fell just short of what would’ve been an incredible upset win over France in Paris, before losing to Italy for the first time ever the week after.

World No. 1 Ireland survived a scare against Australia last weekend – but simply this tour has shown how much potential this team has under Dave Rennie.

“As you can see in the other games, we’ve only lost by a point to some of the top teams,” the star winger added.

“Don’t lose faith in us. I think we’ve got a strong team here. We back ourselves so we hope everyone else backs us as well.”

Prop Allan Alaalatoa, who became the Wallabies’ 85^th Test captain in their history against Italy a couple of weeks ago, echoed his teammates remarks.

While the Wallabies forwards were dominated by their Welsh counterparts for periods of that match, the team “dug deep” as they ended their season on a high.

“I think the boys really dug deep there and our character has been awesome throughout the whole tournament,” Alaalatoa said post-game.

“We’ve had some close games in the past but it just feels really good to be on the winning side of one tonight.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys’ effort.”