England led 9-5 at half-time and looked comfortable in the opening match of the autumn internationals, despite conceding a try to scrum-half and man of the match Will Genia.

But the Wallabies dominated the second half with a second try from Adam Ashley-Cooper and eight points from the boot of Matt Giteau, finishing with a comfortable 18-9 win.

The victory was only Australia’s second in seven matches, and with RBS 6 Nations champions Ireland next up at Croke Park on their grand slam tour, Deans hopes yesterday’s showing will have restored some confidence.

“I’m proud of the boys. We had to work really hard in the first half,” he said. “We had a sense that second half was coming but haven’t shown a lot of patience and belief in recent times.

“But this time the guys showed a lot of courage and worked hard. They used a bit of nous.

“England threw everything at us. They tried width, the short route and also tried to turn us but the boys stood up really well.

“Sooner or later after being knocked down you have got to get up and hopefully we can create a winning habit now.

“Playing Ireland at Croke Park next weekend will be challenging but it’s a great opportunity for us to push on.”