There's no doubt the Wallabies are on the up.
They currently sit on top of the Rugby Championship table -- by way of a bonus point -- they lead the stats table for tries, clean breaks and defenders beaten, while their scrum sits at 100% accuracy -- imagine saying that just a few years ago -- but there's one area of the game they just can't seem to kick -- slow starts.
The Wallabies' fast finishes have become the highlight of their game this year, helping the side produce two stunning come-from-behind victories that will live long in Wallabies fans' memories, but for all the excitement of these stunning finishes, they can't mask Australia's poor starts that have allowed their opposition to build strong leads on all four occasions this tournament.
They were incredible at Ellis Park pulling off the impossible in a frantic final 30 minutes that saw a Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii intercept try, and runaway tries to Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright to claw back from a 22-point deficit. They came close at Cape Town a week later if not for James O'Connor's wayward boot. And in Townsville, it was Angus Bell who stole the victory after the siren.
But in Sydney, the Pumas led 19-7 at halftime before they kicked their way to a 21-point lead by the 60-minute mark by way of the Wallabies poor discipline. Despite an incredible comeback thanks to a measured O'Connor and impressive Filipo Daugunu off the bench -- and additional help from the TMO -- it was a deficit too large to conquer and they fell short at the final hurdle.
Four occasions. Four large deficits. If they allow the same to happen again at Eden Park, they can kiss the Bledisloe Cup goodbye for a 23rd straight year.
It's clearly an issue that's been plaguing Joe Schmidt and he didn't mince his words ahead of the side's opening Bledisloe Cup match at the All Blacks' fortress Eden Park on Saturday.
"Personally, as a coach, I'm sick of watching us getting behind and having to fight our way back," Schmidt told reporters on Thursday.
"It's going to take cohesion because you can't afford to miss marks and turn the ball over and give the All Blacks oxygen because they will damage you if that happens.
"I think probably some of the best rugby we played was in the second Lions Test where we strung together some really good play, put a couple of tries together, and there's been segments, I think, the back end of the last Test we played, the back end of the Test before that, but we'd love to get a better start.
"I think against the All Blacks you can't afford to give them that head start because they can just keep getting further away from you, particularly if we start over-chasing the game and start over-playing and the game becomes too loose.
"We like to play an open, fast game, and so do the All Blacks, so I'm hoping that it's a great advertisement for the game and it's a competitive game, but we need to start well for that to be the case, I think."
He's not wrong. For all the doom and gloom pundits have made of the All Blacks this year following their capitulation to the Springboks and first ever loss in Argentina, they are a world class side that has the ability to flip a match on a dime as was seen in Auckland in their opening win over the Springboks, and as they welcome back stars Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima, and Codie Taylor to the lineup this wounded beast looks more than ready to protect its home from Wallaby invaders.
"I think they're on the cusp of breaking things open," Schmidt said.
"I know a lot of people will focus on the end result last time they played, but 60 minutes in, I was sitting there with Mike Cron and Tom Donnelly, two guys who spent time playing or coaching the All Blacks, and we're all thinking the game's in the balance.
"What can happen is when the game gets away from you a little bit, you maybe try a little bit too hard, or you take a risk that you wouldn't otherwise do, or you start to play outside the box and start to get a little bit individual."
Meanwhile, for all the confidence that has grown within the Wallabies squad and the Australian rugby community following their incredible finish at Townsville, their history-making win at Ellis Park and their nine-year drought-ending win at Twickenham over the last 12 months, their task to end their 38-year winless run at Eden Park has been made infinitely harder given the injury crisis that has slammed the squad once more.
Already without Will Skelton due to commitments in France and Tom Wright (knee), the loss of Rob Valetini (calf) up front and second choice fullback Andrew Kellaway (calf) has no doubt rocked Schmidt's plans for an Eden Park surprise. Instead he's looked to Lukhan Salakaia-Loto to be the muscle to the breakdown with Max Jorgensen handed the fullback jersey for the first time.
But as has been seen so far this year, this young, plucky Wallabies side bolstered by experienced heads in James O'Connor, James Slipper, and Tate McDermott, have character and depth, as well as a never say die attitude, that has seen the incredible produced several times already.
A fast, measured start from the Wallabies come Saturday afternoon could be the difference between an extended Bledisloe Cup drought or the first steps to making history.