In the end, it was worth the wait. Successive defeats against South Africa and New Zealand and a less than impressive victory over Canada had left the adoring Welsh public feeling a little forlorn in the build-up to the final game of this season’s Invesco Perpetual autumn series.

Still, in beating the Wallabies for only the second time since the sides met in that memorable third-place playoff game at the 1987 World Cup, Wales did at least appease those long-suffering supporters who have, for so long, yearned such success.

Ryan Jones, roundly criticised by many for his contribution in recent weeks, was understandably overjoyed by his side’s performance. Jones, who rediscovered the kind of form which installed him as everyone’s favourite to lead the Lions in South Africa next summer, said: “It was a great performance and a fantastic way to round off the autumn series. We came close against South Africa and did really well for 40 minutes against New Zealand, but this was the result we wanted. We wanted a win and we were good enough to get it. The squad can look forward now with justified confidence. I think the sky is the limit.”

Maybe it is, but if Wales are to start winning games of this magnitude on a regular basis, and therefore closing the gap between the European nations and their southern hemisphere counterparts, they will need to show a far greater consistency in performance.

Stephen Jones, in the best form of his life, missed crucial kicks under pressure, whilst Andy Powell, far and away the find of the season, made careless errors either side of half time. The lineout delivery from Matthew Rees was, once again, poor, while turning over possession in contact was an all-too-regular occurrence.

Fortunately, in Gatland, Shaun Edwards and Rob Howley, Wales have three perfectionists in charge and when the dust settles on this victory, those areas of concern will be flagged up in no uncertain fashion.

However, for the time being, Gatland was in no mood to chastise his players. Instead, he provided a measured appraisal of his side’s performance and subsequent victory.

“Like most sides, there are areas where we need to improve,” he said. “However, I think we were deserved winners on this occasion and nobody can take that away from us.

“Obviously we will take a look at the game but in my mind there is no doubt that the best team won. We played some good rugby in the first half and took our chances well when they came. I am really proud of what we have done this month. The players have worked very hard over the last four weeks and they can give themselves a pat on the back. Yes, we gave away a soft seven points but we mostly dominated the game and could have been out of sight if we had taken some other chances and if Stephen had kicked his goals. Hopefully we can mature over the next few seasons into a really good side.”

Try-scorer Shane Williams, whose 44th touchdown for Wales rounded off a week which began with him being named as the IRB’s player of the year, said: “It was great to score and great to get the award. However, today was about winning for the team. This was further proof that we are a decent side moving in the right direction.”

Lee Byrne, who has just about secured his place on the plane for next summer’s British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, said: “It was a must-win game, something we had spoken about all week. They are a tough side and they came here full of confidence having beaten the likes of England and France. However, we stuck in there, kept the ball well and when we got a chance to get over the line we took it. That was particularly pleasing because they are a hard side to break down.”

Australia coach Robbie Deans said: “It was a real international arm-wrestle, from start to finish. We had our opportunities but we didn’t take them as we have in recent games. When you come up against a good side, like Wales, you have to take those chances. It would have been nice to have gone home with a Grand Slam of wins against the four teams over here, but I think we can look back on 2008 with a degree of satisfaction. We have brought through a host of new players and that was what this year was all about. I think we have progressed and we can look forward with confidence to the next time we play.”

The only real bad news for Wales was that centre Jamie Roberts fractured his skull in a second-minute clash of heads with Stirling Mortlock. Roberts remained on the pitch until after half-time.