The Wallabies celebrate their one-point win over the Pumas © Getty Images

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The Wallabies are embarking on one of the most gruelling stretches of overseas fixtures in their history. After leaving Australia on Monday for matches in South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand, they then travel to Europe for their spring tour.

Regular team members face the prospect of playing eight consecutive offshore Tests in the space of ten weekends starting against South Africa in Cape Town next Saturday (Sunday AEST).

The Wallabies, who have a 2-5 record this year, play their last two Rugby Championship matches against the Springboks and Pumas and have one weekend off before a Bledisloe Cup game in Dunedin. One free weekend is followed by Tests on five straight Saturdays on a spring tour schedule which includes matches against all the United Kingdom nations plus Italy.

By the time of their final game against Wales on November 30, Australia will have slogged through 12 Tests in 15 weekends and that doesn't include the three intense battles with the British & Irish Lions at the start of their international campaign.

No wonder the likes of recent stand-in skipper Ben Mowen barely has time to reflect on his rapid rise through the ranks over the past three months. The Brumbies captain and backrower didn't make his senior international debut till late June, but has started all of Australia's past seven Tests, leading the team in their last match against Argentina.

"To be honest I try not to reflect at this stage, because I'd just like to hammer out the year and then I'm sure when it comes to Christmas time I'll get time to sit down and reflect," Mowen told AAP before the Wallabies left for South Africa. "Just the way that the season is laid out, at the moment, you can have recharges in between, but you are so quickly refocusing on the next game, that you can't really afford to be looking back too much.

"You've got to be looking forward to the next contest and keep yourself moving. But it's been a great ride for myself this year obviously. A lot of firsts for me and it's been a very rewarding year."

Mowen felt the matches in South Africa and Argentina would allow Australia the chance to continue developing combinations under new coach Ewen McKenzie.

"The more time this group has had together the better our performances have been on the training paddock and on the field," Mowen said. "I think this is going to be a really important period. The prospect of possibly getting two really huge wins on the road against two sides that play extremely well at home, I think, is an exciting challenge for the group."