Veteran Wallabies flank Phil Waugh is confident that they can bounce back from their opening Tri-Nations defeat when they face the Springboks at Newlands in Cape Town next week.

Australia last tasted success at Newlands in 1992 and just two years ago the Wallabies were denied by two late long-range drop goals to superboot Francois Steyn as the Springboks claimed a 22-19 win in the dying minutes.

"We've been close a number of times. In 2003, we got close. In 2007, we got very close," Waugh told the AAP.

"It's certainly one of the great venues in the world to play rugby at. It's a challenging venue but we've got confidence we can play well and get the win.

"In a way, the last trip to Newlands was one of our best performances. We didn't come away with the win but we performed very well, particularly in the forwards.

"So we need to replicate that performance in the forwards and obviously turn the result around."

The Wallabies will be motivated by their painful loss to the All Blacks and skipper Stirling Mortlock is hoping the three week bye will help the Wallabies get back on track.

"We've had plenty of time for guys to clear themselves both physically and mentally," he said.

"But I think that loss has still fuelled them and given a lot of guys steel and a lot of determination to go over there and give ourselves as good an opportunity as we can.

"The resolve over the last two weeks has certainly been there."