Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said Saturday he was proud of the way Australia battled back into their clash with New Zealand, but admitted they still had plenty to work on.
The hosts were their own worst enemy in the opening 15 minutes of the Bledisloe Cup showdown in Sydney, with sloppy defending and unforced errors seeing them slump 21-0 behind.
It looked like another rout was on the cards, following their humiliating 67-27 defeat to Argentina a fortnight ago.
But they steadied and fought back into contention in the second half, setting up a grandstand finish with the All Blacks hanging on for a nerve-jangling 31-28 win.
"We really rolled our sleeves up in the second half, but the reality is they could've had more of a margin on the scoreboard if they didn't miss a couple of chances," said Schmidt.
"We've got to be realistic about that. We lost the test match. We can't finish a close second.
"There's some things to be proud about... the way we were building our way back into the game. But you give New Zealand a start like that, it's too tough to overcome that."
Australia were forced to make twice as many tackles as New Zealand, and they lost the breakdown and lineout battle.
'THEY SHOWED GRIT'
Schmidt said there were elements to learn from and build on.
"Once it became tight, we probably had a few chances that we didn't put away," he said.
"But pleased with the way we dug in, to build our way back."
New Zealand coach Scott Robertson praised Australia's "grit" and lamented how his side let slip a commanding lead.
But a win was a win, he said, with the Bledisloe Cup retained for another year and the All Blacks back on the right track after two Rugby Championship defeats against South Africa.
"We found a way to win, I'm really pleased," he said. "We're getting good experience to win these tight games.
"They showed a lot of grit, it just shows how much any Aussie team you play, they just won't go away," he added.
The teams meet again in Wellington next weekend.