Dillon Lewis believes Wales can draw inspiration from last season’s autumn victory over Australia, as they prepare to take on the Wallabies in the second round of Rugby World Cup action on Sunday.
The Cardiff Blues prop made impact from the bench last November as Wales secured a 9-6 win on their way to an autumn sweep at Principality Stadium.
The 16-times capped prop insists his side can head into the Tokyo clash with confidence, but is aware of the attacking threat from Michaek Cheika’s men.
“It’s something we can take into the game on the weekend and it’s massive to get those wins against the southern hemisphere teams,” said the prop.
“Getting those wins under our belts during the autumn last year is something we can look back on.
“We can see what we did right in those games and it will be big as we go into this game on the weekend.
“We’ve seen Australia on the weekend, and their set-piece has improved a lot so that will be an area that we will be looking at.
“From a defensive point of view, we know what Australia can do with ball-in-hand and they are a dangerous and exciting team.
“If we get our defence right it should make for a really good game.”
Lewis made his Rugby World Cup debut as a replacement in Monday’s convincing bonus point win over Georgia, with regional team-mates Josh Adams and Tomos Williams on the score-sheet.
Warren Gatland was dealt a blow earlier this week as Cory Hill was ruled out of the tournament, but called upon the experience of Bradley Davies to replace the Dragons lock.
Lewis was pleased with his side’s performance in the set-piece against the formidable Georgian scrum and is confident Ospreys lock Davies will fit in seamlessly with the squad.
“It’s been a long summer building into the World Cup and you could see that the boys were raring for the game against Georgia, and it’s nice to finally get the tournament underway,” added the 23-year-old.
“It was good to get the six tries, and I thought it was a very good team performance.
“We spoke a lot during the week about the set piece and what Georgia would be bringing, particularly at scrum time.
“They pride themselves on the scrum and are one of the best in the world in that area.
“We put a massive emphasis on that and I think we showed up at scrum time, especially in the first half, as well as with the line-outs.
“It’s a big shame losing Cory. Brilliant bloke and a brilliant player but Brad Davies has been called up now and he has a load of experience.
“Two World Cups and again another big character, so he’ll be a perfect fit.”