Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii hails Harry Wilson's leadership following Wallabies' win

After notching a shock 38-22 victory over the Springboks in their Rugby Championship opener in Johannesburg last month, Australia delivered another competitive performance against the world champions in the corresponding fixture in Cape Town before suffering a 30-22 defeat.

Joe Schmidt's troops looked destined for another loss after Juan Cruz Mallia slotted a 79th minute penalty in Townsville but Wilson would not surrender and despite his team receiving three kickable penalties in the game's dying moments – which would have clinched a 24-24 draw – the number eight instructed replacement fly-half James O'Connor to kick for touch as the Wallabies went in search of victory.

That gamble paid dividends after the hooter had sounded when Angus Bell scored the match-winning try for the home side, who have improved considerably under the guidance of head coach Schmidt over the past two months.

And former rugby league star Suaalii hailed both Schmidt and Wilson for their excellent leadership in the Wallabies camp since he joined the set-up ahead of last year's end-of-year tour to Europe.

"It starts with Joe," Suaalii told reporters after the Test in Townsville. "It's all about belief and trust within the group. We want to die on our feet. You don't want to go on our knees.

"Everything's about us, you know? Getting better each game and for us to go to the corner instead of going for the three. It just shows how much belief we have in our group.

"We come out there with the belief that we can win this game and credit to Harry Wilson for going to the corner and backing us as a team.

"He's such a leader within our group. We all look to him to make the calls when the pressure is on the line.

"He made the right call. He backed his boys, that's what he does. He puts belief in his team-mates, and for myself, it's someone that I look to… I want to play for him.

"He has a special ability to, you know, not say too much, but lead by his actions. Today was a special case of his leadership.

"It was a special day for us."

Although the Wallabies have come on in leaps and bounds since Suaalii joined their ranks at the end of last year, he feels there is still room for improvement and is excited to be part of the side's rebuild.

"It's all part of a process for us," said the 22-year-old.

"We're growing and building. There's a lot of things we want to take from this game that we want to build on. We're not happy where we are at the moment, [but] we're getting a lot of support from the Australians.

"We're just hungry to get better each week. When you come to a different code, it's just not about [that] you're coming to play rugby. You're meeting different people, different families and different staff, really enjoying the bond that we're creating.

"These are like all different memories of that. It's really special."