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The makeshift Wallabies have ended their spring tour on an incredible high with an epic 39-34 comeback win over the Wales in Cardiff.

Winger Mark Nawaqanitawase and replacement hooker Lachlan Lonergan were the heroes as Australia fought back from 21 points down with 27 minutes remaining to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at the Principality Stadium.

Nawaqanitawase bagged a second-half double and also played a key role in the lead-up to Lonergan's match-winning try, two minutes from fulltime, as the Wallabies recovered from 34-13 down.

Adding to the drama, the Wallabies lost skipper James Slipper to a head knock in the first half, with replacement prop Sam Talakai becoming the 51st player used by embattled coach Dave Rennie in a rollercoaster 2022.

The improbable victory relieved pressure on Rennie, who had been staring down the barrel of presiding over Australia's worst win-loss record in a calendar year since 1958 following a hat-trick of narrow tour defeats to France, Italy and Ireland.

Instead, it was Wales coach Wayne Pivac who ended the match trying to save his job.

"Pretty stoked," Lonergan said.

"We were in the trenches there in the first half. At the start of the game, all we wanted to do was get a result and do whatever we had to do to do that.

"At halftime we came together and said 'we need to get a result'. Obviously our captain went down with that head knock. So as a team, we said we had to do it for him, our country, do it for Australia."

With nine players, including big guns Michael Hooper and Taniela Tupou, ruled out of the tour injured, Rennie only had 25 players to choose from for his match-day 23 on Saturday.

And with Slipper gone and his side falling more than 20 points behind after two converted tries to Wales early in the second half, the Wallabies looked dead and buried.

But Nawaqanitawase sparked the comeback with tries in the 57th and 67th minutes before another inspired burst set up Lonergan's game-breaker at the death.

Nawaqanitawase's heroics came after he started the Super Rugby season on the bench for the Waratahs.He then fielded a phone call from Rennie while on holidays in New Zealand last month to return home to Sydney to make his Wallabies debut in the season-ending tour.

"I guess that's life," said the humble 22-year-old.

"Things go up and down sometimes, but I'm grateful for where I am at the moment and I couldn't score those tries without the boys."

Australia's great Houdini act was also a psychological boost ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup in France, where they will face Wales in the pool stages.

"As you can see by the other games, we've only lost by a point to the top teams so don't lose faith in us," Nawaqanitawase said.

"We've got a strong team here. We back ourselves so hopefully everyone else backs us as well."

© AAP 2022

Coach Graham Arnold has told his triumphant Socceroos not to celebrate - but he wants the rest of Australia to go nuts.

Arnold expects plenty of hangovers in Australia after a moment of Mitch Duke magic delivered a 1-0 victory over Tunisia at the World Cup.

Duke's stellar header in Saturday's clash at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar gifted his nation a third-ever triumph at the cup finals.

A win or draw against Denmark in four days' time and Arnold's motley mob of Australians from mainly second-tier leagues will match the feats of the fabled 2006 golden generation in progressing from the group.

But Arnold has ordered his players to temper their celebrations after Australia's third win from 18 games at World Cup finals.

"I just said to them, no doubt the nation is extremely proud, but we have done nothing," Arnold told reporters.

"You (players) have achieved something we can talk about after the tournament. But we're here to go as far as we can go.

"I don't want any celebration ... get ready for the next one."

Arnold had a different message for folks back home, though.

"Fans back at home, it's a moment they'll remember for the rest of their lives ... there will be a few hangovers in the morning," he said.

The Socceroos, after losing 4-1 to France in their opener, bank three precious points thanks to oft-maligned striker Duke.

In the 23rd minute, Duke met a skimming one-bounce cross and, with a glancing header that belied the degree of difficulty, became just the eighth Socceroo to score a World Cup.

"It's the best moment of my life," he said.

The victory was Australia's first at the finals since downing Serbia in 2010. They also beat Japan in 2006.

And the Socceroos kept a clean sheet at a cup for the first time since 1974, chiefly because of Harry Souttar.

In just his third senior game since recovering from a knee reconstruction, Souttar was simply superb with a string of interceptions and blocks.

"We were hanging on for a little bit towards the end ... but I am just so pleased," Souttar said.

"When the final whistle went, just the relief - all that hard work we have put in so far and over the qualification stages has come to that."

Aaron Mooy was magnificent in midfield, controlling play with precise passing and a supreme spirit.

"It's amazing," Mooy said. "Buzzing for everybody, that it makes them happy. That is the beauty of playing for the national team, especially at a World Cup."

Wingers Craig Goodwin and Mathew Leckie were also influential.

"Proud," Leckie said. "But we have got to go again in a few days. Nothing has been done."

Captain Mat Ryan, who made a string of late saves, echoed the theme.

"It's what dreams are made of," the goalkeeper said.

"It's a great feat, what we have done. But we're hungry for more."

Midfielder Jackson Irvine said following Arnold's edict and muting celebrations would be difficult.

"I have got to acknowledge what we did and what a big deal it was ... and how big that is for me and how much it means for everybody else," Irvine said.

"But I have got to let it simmer and let it fire us again in four days' time."

The Australians (three points) meet Denmark (one point) at 1800 local time on Wednesday (0200 AEDT Thursday).

Group leaders France (six points) are assured of progressing regardless of their result against Tunisia (one point).

© AAP 2022

Australia's battling tennis men have defied all the odds with a makeshift doubles pairing steering them to victory over Croatia and into their first Davis Cup final in 19 years on a nerve-shredding evening in Malaga.

After more heroics from Alex de Minaur had pulled Lleyton Hewitt's team back from the brink with his consummate tie-levelling singles win over Marin Cilic, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat the Olympic doubles champions to seal Friday's exhilarating 2-1 semi-final win.

It was a triumph straight out of captain Lleyton Hewitt's gritty playbook as a doubles pairing who'd never played together in the Davis Cup were staring at defeat before rallying to down the formidable Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4.

On Sunday (Monday AEDT), the Australians will face either star-studded Canada or second-string Italy in the final, with the force now seeming to be with Hewitt's heroes.

"It's been a long time - we're a very proud Davis Cup nation and I'm just thrilled for these boys," said Hewitt, who'll be looking to oversee a 29th Australian Davis Cup triumph.

Australian chances seemed to have been slashed when the dismaying news emerged that the Wimbledon-winning partnership of Purcell and Matt Ebden wouldn't be starting the decider.

Hewitt later revealed the problem had been an ankle niggle for Ebden which meant "we had to go back to the drawing board and work out a plan that could get the win".

His solution worked perfectly.

Thompson, a singles hero in the quarter-final win over the Netherlands, was replaced by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the opener's role but, as a fine doubles player too, was selected alongside his Sydneysider pal Purcell, a long-time training partner.

"There's nothing f****** like it, mate! Honestly, nothing like it, the best thing I've ever experienced!" Purcell told the crowd, while Thompson suggested a little less colourfully he hadn't minded being dropped from the singles.

"Whatever role the team needs me in, I'll do it. I still got to wear the green and gold and alongside Maxie in a do-or-die doubles match," he said.

The Croatian duo didn't give the Aussies a sniff of a chance for almost two sets until they suddenly conjured up inspiration.

Thompson fired some tracers down the middle as they broke Mektic's serve from nowhere at 5-5 in the second set to transform the contest and both then produced a salvo of stunning winners to break for 4-3 in the third too.

Pandemonium erupted among a small, noisy Aussie fan club in the 8000 crowd in the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena, as Hewitt's team soon celebrated reaching their first final since 2003 when the captain himself played in the triumph over Spain in Melbourne.

Earlier, de Minaur delivered a masterclass to keep their hopes alive, outplaying Cilic 6-2 6-2 in a must-win second singles match following Kokkinakis's 6-4 6-3 defeat by Borna Coric in the opening rubber.

Kokkinakis's loss meant the onus had been on de Minaur to continue his stellar run, needing to win his 10th singles rubber out of his past 11 against Cilic, the last man to beat him in the competition in Croatia's 2021 group victory.

"I know my role," said de Minaur. "My role is to be tough as nails and be that guy that's just hopefully going to be getting those tough wins. I have been doing that well for a while, so very proud of myself."

© AAP 2022