Matt Giteau answered his critics with a five-eighth masterclass as the Wallabies signed off 2009 with their storming win over Wales at Millennium Stadium.

Giteau endured the most turbulent week of his career after his horror night with the boot in Australia's numbing 9-8 loss to Scotland shattered the Wallabies' hopes of an historic unbeaten tour of the UK and Ireland.

But the John Eales Medallist and world player of the year nominee rebounded with a marvellous man-of-the-match display in the four-try rout in Cardiff.

The pivot had a hand or foot in three Australian tries, while also controlling the match with an astute tactical kicking game and tackling everything in sight.

But he insisted his Murrayfield nightmare hadn't motivated him to prove a point to his detractors.

"Last week was last week," Giteau said.

"Every time I go into a game, believe it or not, I have the intention of playing the best football I can and playing the best football I can for the Wallabies and giving my all," Giteau said.

"Sometimes you have games like last week and then you have different games, I guess, like today when things come off a bit more. It's just the way football is."

Giteau said he would savour the sweet victory with his teammates, just as shares the disappointment with them whenever the Wallabies lose.

"For me, it's just satisfying whenever the team does well," he said.

"Obviously I'm part of the group and when the group does well, I get huge satisfaction out of that.

"As a side, we played pretty conservative last week and we still lost, so we had nothing to lose today.

"So we went out there and chanced our arm and played some pretty good football. We were unlucky on a few occasions not to get more tries."

The heat was on the Wallabies, and in particular chief playmaker Giteau and coach Robbie Deans, to deliver a stylish performance, having won just two of their previous 10 Tests.

Deans said external pressures go with the territory, but never really affected the side's focus.

"We care very much about what we do and we do it to the best of our ability," he said.

"We're aware that others care about it as well, and want for the best, and it's tough for them -they have the hardest job because they don't have the ability to influence performance and outcomes.

"We're lucky enough and privileged enough to have that opportunity.

"But we've got to live where we are. You chase your tail if you start to chasing the emotions of success and failure, to be fair.

"And that's what we do. As Gits said, you keep your eye on the ball and you keep going.

"That's one of the critical skills of this game, to keep going. It's never totally plain sailing."

Rookie halfback Will Genia, who also would have been a worthy man of the match, labelled the win more satisfying than the Wallabies' defeat of the world champion Springboks in Brisbane in September.

"We were under a lot of criticism and fire from guys back home and I think the important thing for us during the week is that we didn't let it get to us," he said.

"To come home so strongly, score four tries and play for the full 80 minutes, it's a great dressing room."

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