After days of being dragged into the Craig Joubert refereeing controversy, the Wallabies are trying to refocus for their semi-final against Argentina at Twickenham on Sunday (Monday AEDT).

The Wallabies have to create history if they want to win the World Cup by being the first team in the tournament's history to beat six teams ranked inside the world's top 10-ranked countries. But Genia was unequivocal when quizzed on whether they had the self-belief to be champions.

What's a pass mark for the Wallabies' World Cup campaign? "Win. We want to win," Genia said.

What about being satisfied with an honourable loss? "No. We want to win."

Coach Michael Cheika threw down the gauntlet to his players, saying their biggest hurdle was truly believing they can win. "I genuinely believe. I believe in what we are trying to achieve as a team and how we are trying to live as people," Genia said. "What [Cheika] trying to get at is that if you think you won't, you won't. You've got to eliminate all doubts and think you deserve to win it because you've done the hard work. You've got to believe you can win it, you can go all the way. That way you take out any doubts. The moment you start having doubts, that hesitation creeps in and you sort of fall off the pace a little bit."

The Wallabies have spent the first two days of their preparation deflecting attention from their controversial one-point win over Scotland. Bernard Foley booted a last-minute penalty after referee Joubert awarded the Wallabies a shot at goal after ruling a Scotland player offside.

World Rugby has since issued a statement saying Joubert's decision was wrong. But the Wallabies are unfazed about the drama, turning their attention to a match against a fired-up Argentina side ready to pounce.

The Pumas beat the Wallabies last year for the first time since 1997.

Assistant coach Stephen Larkham said Australia would not fall into the trap of underestimating Argentina.

"I think we've been through a fair bit in this campaign already … Scotland was another example of a game that was won by something we haven't done previously," Larkham said. "There's that lingering doubt in the back of your mind when you come to quarter-finals about sudden death and I think we've overcome that now. The focus for the boys isn't about outcomes, which is a trap that teams can fall into thinking about the outcome and getting cramped up by that thought process.

"We just didn't feel that pressure was in the team leading into the game [against Scotland]."

The Wallabies are waiting for Israel Folau and David Pocock to prove their fitness, while Scott Sio still has limited movement in his right arm after injuring his elbow. Cheika will give the trio until later in the week to get back into full training and show they are fit.

The Wallabies have also been boosted at training with winger Rob Horne returning from a shoulder injury to put pressure on Drew Mitchell to retain his starting XV spot. The Wallabies haven't made a World Cup final since 2003, losing a quarter-final in 2007 and the semi-final four years ago.

Cheika has taken blame for the sub-par performance against Scotland, standing in front of the team at a review session to say he didn't prepare the players well enough. "From a player's point of view … you just appreciate that honesty. It takes a lot of guts to stand up in front of the group and say something like that. I think that touched a few blokes," Genia said.

"There's just a lot of respect for your teammates and with that respect comes honesty. Just because you say you didn't do something well doesn't mean you're having a go at someone.

"It means you want them to do it better so that next time the team can perform better. That's the probably the biggest difference [in this Wallabies team] – it's taken a lot better than other environments I've been a part of. Guys don't take offence to things like that."