The two week break between the end of the British & Irish Lions series and the start of the Rugby Championship has allowed the Wallabies time to reflect, and for Zane Nonggorr, time to put the win to good use.
The Wallabies produced strong performances in Melbourne and Sydney, with the side aiming to build on that consistency when they face the Springboks in Johannesburg this weekend.
It’s a challenge that Nonggorr is under no illusion of, with the Springboks naming an imposing side to bash the men in gold up front.
“Obviously we're very proud of that [Lions] win that we got, but I think we know that that's now behind us,” Nonggorr said to reporters on Tuesday.
“We have a very big challenge coming up with the Rugby Championship and especially this weekend. It [is] more so is that day-to-day, focusing on what we can do to improve ourselves the most that day.
“I think we grew a lot in that series and I guess our focus really is to just keep building and getting stronger hopefully.
“You never know if you're starting or not. So you prepare to play 80 minutes every week and you prepare as best as you can, train as best as you can to the top quality that you can.”
Nonggorr debuted for the Wallabies two years ago in Pretoria, and is all too familiar of the challenges posed playing the world champions in the Highveld - both in terms of the higher altitude and the fans.
“Everyone in South Africa is very passionate about rugby,” the 10-capped Wallaby said.
“You can see that based on how they rally around their team when they get the results. It's very exciting to come here and play.
“We know there'll be a lot of fans cheering for the South Africans, but hopefully we'll be able to put on a show that makes our fans back home proud.
“Obviously, they've been a very good set-piece… a very good starting pack and a very good bench pack. I guess we've just been talking about focusing on ourselves, making sure we get better with each session, with each game.
“Our challenge is having a match set and making sure that quality [is] across our starters, our bench, even the boys not playing. It's the quality that we train is uniform across the board.”
Competition for Wallaby positions has presented itself over the Lions series, with several new faces arriving in new forwards coach Tom Donnelly and hooker Josh Nasser.
However, one of the most exciting options for the Wallabies front row looms in new Reds signing Aidan Ross, with the Australian-born, former All Black called into the side for the final Lions Test match.
Though he didn’t make the final 23, Ross has made an impact immediately in Reds and AUNZ XV colours, and Nonggorr has noted his attention to detail had pushed growing standards in the front row.
“Yeah, [he’s a] big horse,” Nonggorr chuckled.
“He's a pretty no-nonsense kind of bloke. He kind of gets about his work very diligently and he's definitely pushing his name forward. He's not there floating around or drifting.
“He's on task at all times and if you drop your standards, he'll let you know. But he's also a very good coach for someone going against him. He gave me pointers when we were doing our training in Sydney and I'm very grateful for that.
“He's a very no-nonsense kind of bloke and someone that you just love to have in the team.”
