Wallaroos winger Desiree Miller believes the side is reaping the benefits of sticking tough during their early defeats as they put themselves in position for the WXV 2 title.
The Wallaroos sit on top of the ladder heading into the final round after strong wins over Wales and South Africa, facing Scotland on Sunday (AEDT) to decide the winner.
Watch the Wallaroos tackle Scotland to decide WXV 2 live and exclusively on Stan Sport.
After losses to Ireland and Wales to start the tour, the squad’s resolve shone through, evident late as they repelled a last-minute charge from the South Africans to claim a 33-26 win in Cape Town.
“I think the team, we’ve just grown together and we’ve looked to solve the solution as a team and not to look towards each other and finger point,” Miller said to reporters.
“I think that we value and respect each other and we’re willing to put the work in for each other.
“We focus really hard off the field to connect more and that shows on the field. Jo’s (Yapp) touched on the fact that the last few weeks we’ve worked together as a team of 30 throughout the whole training week, leading up to the game.”
Miller was the standout in the seven-point win, crossing for a second half try after being denied a five pointer before the break.
The 22-year-old torched South Africa in all areas of the park, including a great break that started from her own 22 to get Australia out of trouble.
The winger finished with six line breaks to go with 11 tackle busts as the Wallaroos leaned on their speedy outside backs as the focus point of their attacking game plan.
“Our best form of discipline is keeping the ball,” Miller believes.
“Wo we try to keep the ball as much as possible and that's why we kept it infield and we had a hard kick chase but I think we’ve just got to back the fact that we're a good ball-playing team and we look better with the ball in our hands.
“We just have to maintain that and get it to the likes of Maya (Stewart) who can gas people on the outside and set up a good platform on the edge to then play back into the middle.”
The Wallaroos last played Scotland in 2022, holding on 14-12 down to 13 players.
“I think we just got to stick to our processes and focus on ourselves and what we can do to put a front up against them like we have the last few weeks,” Miller added.
