The Wallabies were unrecognisable on Saturday in a highly encouraging win against Wales: for periods of the Test in Sydney it was as if 2023 didn’t happen.

There was structure, there was purpose, there was grit when needed, and there was a much-underappreciated effort at No.10 from Noah Lolesio.

Some will fixate on a few individual errors, but that’s not what they should be looking at. Joe Schmidt’s style needs a conductor at No.10, and Lolesio actually looked more comfortable in that bigger role than he does at the Brumbies, who probably play a bit more off halfback and have Ryan Lonergan as a dominant figure.

Lolesio was a major voice on Saturday, bossing his forwards around and at times perfectly taking up his position at the back of that tight, four-man diamond shape in attack that was so reminiscent of Ireland. So much of the Wallabies’ good work came from the deception and short passing games of Lolesio and Hunter Paisami.

2. Cron has straightened Tupou up

NSW fans will be hoping that Taniela Tupou’s excellent first half was a preview of the Waratahs’ scrum next year. The big prop was dialled in and task-focused: another sure sign of Schmidt’s early influence. But the most impressive thing was the north-south shape of his scrummaging. It wasn’t so long ago that overhead cameras would reveal Tupou angling in from the tighthead position, a habit referees became aware of.

However, every official in World Rugby reviewing the Wallabies’ win game would have seen the perfect picture: just awesome power and brilliant technique.

It was a major tick for new scrum guru Mike Cron, and should favourably affect the perception of the Wallabies scrum. There is a lot of grunt coming through that side with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto pushing behind Tupou.