The Wallabies finished the British & Irish Lions tour in style with a 22-12 win on a chaotic night in Sydney, leading from start to finish to deny the visitors what would have been the first series sweep since 1904.
However, Billy Pollard believes the squad is just getting started, with the final test being one that is going to rank highly in the hooker’s career achievements.
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“It just gives us confidence,” Pollard said to reporters on Saturday night.
“We know we're heading in the right direction now, and we obviously have a lot to improve on. But I just think this win just shows that we're in the right direction and we're doing some things right.
“It's hard to put into words, but the way we bounced back, just extremely proud of all the boys: it's a feeling you can't really wrap your head around.”
Despite the series loss, the Wallabies emphatically answered critics who claimed Australia was not worth travelling to for the Lions after Brisbane, leading the second test for 79 minutes and never relinquishing the lead in the third test.
After the heartbreak of the MCG loss, the threat of a series sweep and the retirement of Nic White spurred the side into action, with the Brumbies hooker turning to his club captain Allan Alaalatoa.
“I'm really proud of the way we bounced back,” the nine-capped Wallaby said.
“It just means the world to send Whitey off on a high like that. The performance we did tonight, it just means the world.
“Joe [Schmidt] and Harry [Wilson] were talking about the words Alan had before this game.
“Alan's obviously just an exceptional leader, but some of that leads by example. His words have so much more meaning when it comes from him, just because anything he says, he does. He doesn't expect anyone to do something that he wouldn't do himself.
“What he said, it's just about doing whatever it takes, basically. I think we did that tonight, and having someone like Alan come in and say that, it meant a lot.”
Pollard, like several young Wallabies across the tour delivered a strong performance - which was even more impressive considering he was a last minute addition to the run on side following Dave Porecki’s injury.
However, the Brumby was excited to rise to the challenge, especially to go up against the likes of Dan Sheehan in the set piece.
“When Porecki went down Thursday arvo [it] was a bit of a shock, and then also Fez [Matt Faessler] got injured too, so BPA [Brandon Paenga-Amosa] had to come in fairly late notice,” Pollard added.
“I thought he did exceptionally, and yeah, it's just kind of a next-man-up mentality.
“I definitely rate him [Sheehan] as one of, if not the best in the world, and it was good to get to swap the jersey with him after the game too.
“I'm a massive, massive fan of his game, and it was just really special to swap the jersey with him.
“I think we always knew there was going to be a lot of scrums given the conditions, and it helps when you have Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton to the right of you, and that's important, but nothing changes.
“In each scrum, it's a new scrum, and you have to manage the process.”
The Wallabies will have to recoup quickly, bouncing straight out of a tough Lions series into the Rugby Championship, with back to back matches against the world’s top ranked side, South Africa.
However, Pollard is excited by the challenge - especially after seeing the heights the side could reach in Sydney.
“He [Schmidt] was just proud that we did what we said we were going to do,” Pollard said of the post match chat.
“That's something that's really important to us, that we're just nailing our processes and just nailing what we can control. He was just really proud of that and understood [where] we're going.
“We do feel really good. We understand the massive challenge that's in front of us, and it's something that's really exciting: they are the best, and you want to test yourself against the best.
“It's a really exciting challenge, and we're looking forward to it.”
