Buenos Aires: Tevita Kuridrani has revealed guidance from Brumbies teammate Christian Leali'ifano has been the key to unlocking his best performances yet in a gold jersey.

Kuridrani was one of the few bright spots in the Wallabies' late-game collapse against the Springboks last weekend, running as if "he had spiders on him" - in the words of Scott Fardy - to help put Australia to a 10-5 half time lead and making 17 tackles to keep it in the match with 10 minutes to go.

Climbing high ... Tevita Kuridrani during a training session.

Rewarded with a debut in Ewen McKenzie's first Test team last year, the 23-year-old has started in all but three of his 15 appearances since then, in an indication of the esteem in which he is held by the Wallabies coach.

But if his selections might have been characterised as an investment in future growth until recently, Kuridrani's benchmark-setting game against the Springboks is a tantalising glimpse of the payoff.