in years.
Rocky Elsom and Nathan Sharpe - who lost a tooth in the course of play - were strong leaders on the field and are the kind of men that provide the hard edge vital to the young team's success.
The Wallabies never reached fifth gear on the night, and coach Robbie Deans is fully aware that the true test of their credibility will come next weekend when they take on the rampaging All Blacks.
But even so, the signs are there that in time, this confident and youthful Austalian side could make the serious challenge to the Tri Nations and Bledisloe silverware.
The interpretations of the Northern Hemisphere referees came under serious criticism from the South African coach de Villiers earlier in the week, and after two more of his players were yellow carded for infringements it's obvious the Springboks are struggling to meet the standards of discipline being set.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks and Wallabies alike have had success, in a tournament that Robbie Deans has said feels distinctly different to the 2009 competition, by holding onto the ball and playing attacking rugby.
But the Australians have won at their Suncorp fortress before only to fall away in following matches, and so it remains too early to tell whether this is the year the team will make the charge.
The Wallabies were far from perfect and the same mistakes won't go unpunished against the All Blacks, but there's no doubt that if coach Robbie Deans had have been offered a 17 point win pre-game he'd have taken it.
As the coach said post-game, you can't not be happy with a decisive win over the reigning World and Tri Nations champions, regardless of their form or history at the venue.
"You've got be happy with the performance. There's a lot of stuff to be proud of, particularly the defence," he said.