Christian Lealiifano was blessedly solid, the Aussie scrum was a welcome blast from the past and the new Wallaby defence posted a rare figure.
What are we talking about after the Wallabies' win over Argentina?
SOLID OVER SIZZLE
The best advertisement for Christian Lealiifano to keep hold of the Wallabies no.10 shirt for the Bledisloe Cup wasn’t in the 50 minutes he played.
It was in the 30 minutes he didn't, when Lealiifano’s game management and voice was sorely missed.
And almost gave the Pumas a chance to take an upset win.
Lealiifano was as solid as Mount Coot-tha in his Brisbane return, showing not a minute of the 1127 days between his 18th and 19th Test caps.
If there is a more impressively resolute character than Lealiifano in Australian rugby, perhaps even Australian sport, than he or she has been doing a good job of hiding.
Apart from laying on the linebreak that led to Australia’s only try, and kicking four from four, Lealiifano wasn’t overly spectacular in the no.10 shirt.
But amen for that, because for many too years Aussie rugby has treasured sizzle over solid. Even just the potential for sizzle.
Lealiifano did for Australia what he’s done for the Brumbies for seasons on end - he helped build a win.
He made his tackles, found grass with long kicks (of which there were way too few by the Wallabies) and he gave Will Genia a constant vocal presence.
When Lealiifano was replaced with half-hour to go, that connection was lost with Matt Toomua and Genia and the Wallabies game degenerated.
The ship was steadied somewhat when Nic White came on at nine, and perhaps this is what Cheika is currently examining ahead of the World Cup - who connects with who.
The good news? Lealiifano and Genia, the two old soldiers with a tonne of experience, looked like they’d be teammates for years.
SCRUMS COUNT AT THE CUP
In both coaching boxes at Suncorp Stadium, there was probably equal appreciation of the value of the dominant Wallabies scrum.
Mario Ledesma wouldn’t have liked it one bit, mind you. Not when his pack’s problems compounded a very sloppy night at the office for his team.
But Ledesma knows full well how vital a strong scrum is at a World Cup.
Ledesma was the man who turned the Aussie scrum into a powerful - and still under-rated - unit at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, as then-Wallaby scrum coach.
People remember the tries by Ashley-Cooper, Foley and Giteau, but not as many remember scrum penalties delivering points time and again, or relieving pressure.
Stats from the 2015 World Cup show the Wallabies won a penalty one in every four scrums, only behind England (one in three) and Georgia (one in two).
And Australia took six scrum penalties out of England in their pool clash.
So little wonder Michael Cheika was happy post-game in Brisbane, after he saw a collection of his front-row talent do the same to Argentina.
“Well, no scrum, no game isn’t it?” Cheika said on FoxSports.
"In tight competitions and tournaments you have to be excellent in that area.”
The positive for the Wallabies at scrum time was that an array of combinations got the job done.
After missing last week, Scott Sio nestled in nicely to Brumbies mate Folau Faingaa again, and Sekope Kepu was good too.
James Slipper kept up the pressure and Taniela Tupou also turned on power.
The most encouraging part is that Alan Alaalatoa, the form Aussie tighthead in 2019, is still to return.
The work of the back five can’t be dismissed, either, and it showed the value of having a big six and a big eight on the field.
Argentina missed Agustin Creevy but it’s Argentina. They’re not short on front rowers.
HARDER WORK THAN NEEDED
The tenacity and fight shown by the Wallabies to claim a win over an opponent who pushed the All Blacks last week can’t be under-played.
But nor can it be overplayed.
There was far too much tenacity and fight required to get the win.
The Wallabies went about playing rugby the hard way, running out of their half and playing high-risk footy with low-percentage offloads.
It seems no-one keeps 7+phase counts any more but if they did, you can bet the Wallabies didn’t bother that stat counter much.
The Wallabies were far more direct than last week off starter phases and it gave them good front-foot ball. But time and again in the first half, the ball was then turned over.
Argentina were given ample possession to attack in the Wallabies half.
To their credit, Australia defended very well to shut down the threats but you got the sense they could have ground the Pumas down earlier and by greater margin. They were the better team.
Prior to Australia scoring their only try, they’d had 51 per cent possession but only 21 per cent territory.
For consecutive weeks, the Wallabies conceded over 20 turnovers.
Australia were fortunate the Pumas’ handling was as poor as it was because they were let off the hook on numerous occasions.
And yes, defensive pressure caused many of those errors but not all.
The All Blacks won’t show the same kindness, particularly with the Wallabies having a tendency to follow a mistake with a second mistake, and turn attack into scrambled red-zone defence.
As with a scrum, the ability to build pressure via playing in your opponent’s half is crucial at World Cups. That’s all the northern hemisphere will be playing.
Australia needs to balance ambition with the same pragmatism.
NEW DEFENCE BRINGS IMPROVEMENT
The Australian defence deserves all the credit it was paid post-game.
It was only the fifth time the Wallabies had held an opponent to 10 points or less in the four years since the last World Cup.
In those 49 Tests, the Wallabies defence has turned into a major concern, conceding over 30 points on 16 occasions and an average of almost three tries per game.
At Suncorp Stadium, the Wallabies only gave up one try and discipline in the kicking range of Nicolas Sanchez was also admirable.
Australia have begun to employ a defensive system of using muscle and linespeed tight to the ruck, but a soak-style defence out wide.
Gone is the attempt to play pressure defence with centres rushing up, which encouraged lone-wolf shooters and invited countless Kiwis for a stroll through the line when it went wrong. Now the Wallabies are sitting back and taking far more time.
It was a bit too passive in Johanesburg but worked in Brisbane with more edge, and good trust between teammates.
Lukhan Salakai-Loto, Rory Arnold and Izack Rodda had some real menace in their work.
How will the Kiwis respond to it? We’ll soon find out.
GOOD WILL RUNNING
It’s always heartening to see nice guys get rewards, so how good that Will Genia got to do a last lap of Suncorp Stadium after a win.
FoxSports showed Genia has played more rugby on the old Lang Park than anyone, ahead of Rob Simmons and Greg Holmes, and his experience was yet again instrumental in the Wallabies securing a win.
When Genia the general is running the show with pass and kick for Australia, and the breakdown is functioning, the Wallabies look like a side who can challenge anyone.
But if you throw your mind back to Dunedin in 2017 as an example of how that can look, you’ll also remember Genia running and adding yet more danger to his game.
That’s the part that you’d love to see in coming weeks.
