'We want to move forward': Wallabies turning attention to Bledisloe after 'tough' Springboks defeat

Dave Rennie's men were handed a brutal 24-8 defeat by the world champions in Sydney, gaining revenge from Adelaide.

“We’re pretty disappointed. It’s a tough loss, we got a bit out-enthused there and didn’t make the most of our opportunities,” prop Scott Sio reflected after the game.

“We lacked a bit of physicality…we’ve got to take the time to swallow that pill and review next week and try and move forward as a group.

“For us, it’s about making sure we’re clear when we are next back in as a group. The next couple of days gives us time to review as an individual and group so we’re clear how we want to move forward as a group and grow as a team.”

After an even first 30 minutes, the departures of Hunter Paisami and Noah Lolesio to concussions threw the backline into chaos, with their 6-2 bench split meaning Jake Gordon featured as a make-shift winger.

This seemed to show as the attack struggled to take their opportunities, with the game still in the balance before Makazole Mapimpi's late try.

However, fullback Reece Hodge refused to use it as an excuse, frustrated by yet another inconsistent and inaccurate performance.

“It’s not ideal to lose your 10 or 12 but we prepare for those scenarios so that’s no excuse,” Hodge reiterated. “You prepare for worst case, not best, I’d like to think everyone knew their role and were pretty clear on what we needed to do.

“The first half was not bad, the inaccuracy at the breakdown cost us. That period from 40-60 (minutes), we allowed them to get on top of us.

“I don’t think we can blame a couple of injuries for how we played.”

The Wallabies will get the chance to regroup before a rare mid-week Test against the All Blacks on September 15 in Melbourne.

In order to bring home the Bledisloe for the first time since 2002, they must bounce back with victory at Marvel Stadium before repeating the effort at Eden Park nine days later.

After a shaky performance against Argentina in Christchurch, the All Blacks produced a statement 50-3 win in Waikato.

However, the unpredictable nature of World Rugby in 2022 has the Wallabies up for the challenge.

“New Zealand obviously had a big win over Argentina, so they’re going to be very confident and it’s going to be a big challenge but one that hopefully we’re up for in Melbourne,” Hodge said.

“We’ll look at New Zealand over the coming couple of weeks but (the 50-3 win) didn’t surprise me.

“We’ve had a few more Tests (than previous years before the Bledisloe) and the beauty of the Rugby Championship this year is each team can beat anyone on their day.

“We’re going to have to go in with some serious belief that we can beat the All Blacks in Melbourne and get the Bledisloe campaign off to a good start.”

“It’s always an exciting Test, you just have to look back over the years Wallabies have had some classic matches there so we always look forward to facing the blokes across the ditch,” Sio added.

“It’s one of the toughest assignments to beat New Zealand in New Zealand. Thankfully for us, we have the chance to do it on home soil (before heading to Auckland) in Melbourne. We’ll get around the people in Melbourne and hopefully put together a good performance.”