Gareth Anscombe insists Wales can be proud of their defensive effort after halting a 13-match losing streak against Australia on Saturday.
The Cardiff Blues star featured for the full 80 minutes against the Wallabies, as a late Dan Biggar penalty sealed the victory for Warren Gatland’s side.
Wales and Australia are set for a Tokyo-showdown during next year’s Rugby World Cup pool stage, where they are also placed alongside Fiji, Georgia and Uruguay.
Speaking to WRU TV, Anscombe praised the Welsh supporters following Saturday’s win and believes his side dealt well with Australia’s danger-men in the backs.
“It was one of those games where both sides refused to give an inch,” said the outside half.
“Australia were really sharp at the breakdown, which we expected with Michael Hooper and David Pocock in the side, and we probably could’ve dealt with that a little bit better.
“But we hung in there, and hung in there, so it’s really nice to come away with a close win against these guys, because it’s been a long time coming.
“We believe in each other and we know that we’re a hard defence to crack.
“I’m still harping on about thinking that our attack can grow, but we’re really proud of the red wall we create here, especially in the stadium.
“It takes a pretty tough team to crack us, and we kept fronting up. We applied some pressure for periods of time, and we got a few points. We had to dig in during the last 10 minutes and came away with a close win.
“They’re a team full of x-factor, with Izzy [Folau] out wide, and some big midfielders in the middle, but I thought we defended heroically and we’re pretty pleased that we won this one.
“We need the fans here. When it came down to the wire, the boys were absolutely knackered and it takes 80,000 of the fans to get us going.
“We’re really proud of the squad effort and we’ve been able to show the fans that we can beat the Aussies here.”