So much for running the Springboks off their feet.

The tip was the whippersnapper Wallabies, following the example of the rampant All Blacks in Soweto last weekend, would run all over the South Africans in the last quarter of the game.

And certainly the loopy attacking frenzy in the first 20 minutes didn't leave anybody in any doubt about the bold Australians' intentions, but the only beast with a spring its step during the game-winning minutes at altitude in Pretoria was the ageing Springbok. The South Africans' epic 44-31 victory was remarkable, as much for the Boks' steel and solidarity to come back from an unthinkable deficit as it was for its rude exposure of Australia's pronounced psychological flaws.

Australia's inability to turn a 21-7 lead after 11 minutes and a 28-24 advantage at the break following a dominant first half into a Test victory is another blow for coach Robbie Deans and his willing charges who are teetering on the brink of another disastrous Tri Nations campaign with just one win to their credit in 2010. Again the Wallabies' lack of depth was exposed and again their inability to be switched on for the entire 80 minutes cost them a scalp.

As they do frequently, the Australians fell apart in the second half, literally running into each other on occasion, making the idiocy of their first half defensive lapses to the let the Boks back in at times when the Wallabies shouldn't have allowed them even a sniff even more irritating.

Regardless, the Wallabies were still a ripe chance to finish with a flourish as they dominated territory for good periods in the second term, but the loss of Nathan Sharpe in the 64th minute, apparently to an ankle injury, put an end to that. The Australian lineout folded, giving up potent attacking opportunities in the decisive moments of the game.

"Critically at the end when we had built some pressure and had built opportunity, our set piece came up short," Deans lamented.

The Wallaby coach and team captain Rocky Elsom also more broadly referred to the Wallabies' too frequent coughing up of possession in the second half as a fatal flaw.

The Australians will have to tidy up their ball retention if they are to topple the Boks next weekend in Bloemfontein, but the lynchpin to their chances of taking a 2-1 Test advantage for 2010 over the Boks is 32-year-old Sharpe, who is not only a workhorse but an attacking weapon as his drives account for much of the Wallaby go-forward.

How ironic is it that 86-Test veteran Sharpe, one of the first ‘victims' of the Robbie Deans era, when the coach dropped the bald behemoth only to reluctantly bring him back because of squad injuries, is now arguably one of the most irreplaceable players in the starting side?

The third Test of the year between these two closely matched teams is in the balance, though the Saffers never-say-die attitude should allow them favouritism. But, as importantly, the Pretoria Test has offered hope for Wallaby supporters that the elusive corner the Aussies have been trying to turn seems to be close, and it may be a hairpin.

This could be a time for a little (more) blind faith. After all, if the Australians are to go down, it is somewhat more tolerable to see them crash in attacking master pieces such as the Pretoria Test.

Make no mistake, they played the game the way Australia should play - have to play. And for the most part in Pretoria they had the personnel on the ground to do the job. Let's dispense with the predictable post-game scratching of the head about Matt Giteau's form, James O'Connor's reliability or the tight five's inability to intimidate.

Winning isn't purely a matter of ability for the Wallabies anymore - the margin and manner of recent victories and losses are evidence that there's not a huge talent variance between the best three sides in the world: it's more a bit of head-mind thing, doctor.

But if the Wallabies can continue to embrace the positive: back themselves to the hilt while weeding out a few of the implosion moments, they can - they will - turn this around.