Wallabies coach Robbie Deans admits unfancied Samoa handed Australia a big Tri Nations and Rugby World Cup reality check with their shock 32-23 victory in Sunday's season-opening Test in Sydney.

Inspired Samoa out-scored Australia four tries to two to post their first-ever win over the Wallabies in front of almost 30,000 shellshocked fans at ANZ Stadium.

The embarrassing defeat - which reversed Australia's 74-7 trouncing of Samoa in their last meeting with the Pacific Islanders at the same venue six years ago - left Deans with little time to pick up the pieces before taking on South Africa in the Tri Nations series opener in Sydney on Saturday night.

"It's given us an awakening in terms of what's going to be required to be competitive within six days," Deans said, admitting the bruising Samoans had beaten the Wallabies in the physicality stakes.

"We're starting from scratch."

Despite resting several stars, including playmaker Quade Cooper and flanker turned water boy David Pocock, Deans and skipper Rocky Elsom were desperate to open the 2011 Test season in successful fashion.

With Australia falling behind 29-13 in the 55th minute, Deans anxiously threw big guns Will Genia and Kurtley Beale into the action.

But it was too little too late, with Samoa holding on for a memorable triumph.

"It's history to us, beating the No.2 team in the world," overjoyed Samoan coach Fuimaono Titimaea Tafua said.

A dejected Elsom, who was also captain when Australia fell to lowly Scotland on the 2009 grand slam tour of the British Isles, refused to rank the loss.

"Well, I'm not happy about it. I don't think anyone is," the big flanker said.

"We can speculate about those sort of things but what's important now is our response.

"We've got six days now until we play the Springboks and I think that there are things that we're going to have to take out of that game and things we're going to have to work pretty hard on.

"But dwelling on things is not going to serve us well, and you'll get a good gauge on how much we've taken out of that by how we perform next week."

Australia spurned several opportunities to shoot for penalty goals from close range in the first half as the visitors jumped to a 17-0 lead courtesy of converted tries to huge and impressive winger Alesana Tuilaga in the 12th minute and fullback Paul Williams in the 29th and three goals from five-eighth Tusi Pisi.

Elsom, though, insisted the Wallabies hadn't disrespected Samoa.

"The thing that let us down is that we weren't effective enough in our attack," said Elsom, who otherwise made a successful comeback from hamstring and ankle injuries that had limited the back-rower to just one match since last year's spring tour.

"We had the opportunity to create things but we didn't because we weren't good enough at what we were doing."

Springboks coach Peter De Villiers was roundly condemned last week by Australia and New Zealand officials for sending a second-string team to Australasia for their first two Tri Nations games.

But South Africa's 2007 World Cup-winning coach Jake White on Friday said De Villiers' controversial move was designed to have his full-strength side ready for the combative Samoans, plus Wales, in the RWC pool stages in New Zealand.

De Villiers' tactics now look a lot wiser, with veteran Wallabies playmaker Matt Giteau agreeing that the Samoans had proven they have the potential to knock over anyone on their day.

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