The Wallabies believe they are on the path to becoming a great team and Saturday's heartbreaking near-miss against the All Blacks is a step in that direction, says Kurtley Beale.
Michael Cheika's restored a lot of lost pride in the national team as they went achingly close to beating the world champions on their home soil just a week after the 54-34 humiliation at their hands in Sydney.
While the Bledisloe Cup is now unattainable for a 15th straight season, the 35-29 - five tries apiece - second Test loss in Dunedin looked very much a potential turning point in the fortunes of the Wallabies.
They heeded the lessons of the Sydney Test, notable fixing their defence so successfully that it became an offensive weapon, while cutting the controversial positional switches in defence to allow the likes of Beale to successfully defend their own channels.
They also varied their ball-in-hand game at times, astutely hoisting contestable high kicks at diminutive All Blacks fullback Damien McKenzie and also slowed the game down when it suited against a team which thrives on high-paced rugby.
World Cup-winning Michael Lynagh, who had publicly lambasted the Wallabies for their "non-existent" skills and "schoolboy" errors a week ago, tweeted: "Thank you @qantaswallabies Proud of you."
Brought back from Europe, inside centre Beale was close to the Wallabies' best player in an inspiring display.
He scored a go-ahead try in the 76th minute, only for All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett to respond two minutes later with his second try to win the game.
Beale described the outcome as "heartbreaking stuff" but said the team never lost faith.
Not during the week when they were written off by the entire rugby world, and not even when the All Blacks woke from their slumber - stunned after Australia scored the opening three tries - and began their ominous march into the lead.
"People won't believe anything that I'll probably say now but there is a lot of belief in our group at the moment," Beale told reporters.
"These young guys are standing up to the plate and the senior guys are directing the team down a really good path and everyone gets on, we're all good mates, we've all got a lot of respect and love for each other.
"That's going to help us build into a great team. These disappointments are going to make us better people, better players, better team.
"(We've) just got to try and soak it in and try and remember this one so when we come back next time, we'll be playing with a lot to prove."
While there was more variation in their game, the Wallabies largely stuck to coach Michael Cheika's attacking tactical tenets and it nearly paid off handsomely.
Beale said: "We've got our own identity."
"There were times there where we had to play contestable kicks and try and play in the opposition half but I think as a playmaker out there, there's so much opportunity to give my outside backs and opportunity and confidence is a big thing.
"A couple of handling errors cost us in the end ... that one really just cuts the heart a bit.
"I'm proud of the boys for sticking at it."