Wales coach Warren Gatland hailed his players’ composure and fitness after they moved towards the World Cup quarter-finals with their memorable victory over Australia.

The Pool D showdown did not disappoint as Wales cruised into a 26-8 lead before Australia went within a point of drawing level – and were then finally broken by replacement Rhys Patchell’s late penalty.

Wales’ 29-25 triumph keeps them on course for a potential last-eight clash against France or Argentina

It was Wales’ second win in succession against Australia but a first World Cup victory over the Wallabies since 1987.

“I would like to see them (Wales players) celebrate tonight,” Kiwi Gatland said.

“They deserve to celebrate – it was a tough game and a great win.

“Australia were really good in the second half, put us under a lot of pressure and had a lot of ball.

“And it became a typical Wales-Australia clash, going right down to the wire. To win that is very pleasing, and that means the pool is our own destiny.

“Our game-management has improved significantly. It was good in the autumn last year, and particularly in the Six Nations. We’ve learnt a lot from those experiences.

“Even though we were under a lot of pressure in that second half, I thought our composure and fitness were really good and we soaked up a lot of pressure.

Gatland confirmed fly-half Dan Biggar failed a head injury assessment – he was replaced by Patchell during the first half – and that full-back Liam Williams rolled his ankle.

“Dan failed an HIA,” Gatland added. “I had a chat with him afterwards.

“He’s disappointed he had to come off, but it is important we go through the (HIA) protocols.

“Rhys (Patchell) did a fantastic job for us. He’s been criticised a lot for his defence in the past. We changed a few things about the way he defended, and I though his line speed was excellent.

“It was one of the toughest Test matches they’ve played in a long, long time. We need to make sure we recover. It’s nice getting a decent break before getting our next game against Fiji.

“I want the guys to look after themselves tonight, but they deserve to pat each other on the back. It’s a big confidence boost for the next couple of games.”