Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Fraser McReight’s honest take on Wallabies before ‘epic’ Spring Tour

By Finn Morton
Fraser McReight of Australia charges forward during The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between New Zealand All Blacks and Australia Wallabies at Sky Stadium on September 28, 2024 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Backrower Fraser McReight didn’t seem deterred by the challenges that await the Wallabies on their upcoming Spring Tour. As they continue to prepare for next year’s British & Irish Lions Tour, the Aussies will take on England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

ADVERTISEMENT

Following the Wallabies’ tough run in The Rugby Championship, which saw Joe Schmidt’s men win just one of their six Tests, the men in gold will probably carry the underdog tag into these Tests. While they did beat Wales twice in July, the other fixtures seem daunting.

But, it must be said, the Wallabies showed plenty of resilience and character during Saturday’s 33-13 loss to the All Blacks in Wellington. While the scoreboard doesn’t necessarily do them justice, the visitors put up a fight after a red-hot start at Sky Stadium.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

McReight scored the opener to give the Aussies a lead early, but their New Zealand rivals hit back with a barrage of point-scoring fun. It was close at the break, with the All Blacks leading after a Caleb Clarke try, but the second term was all one-way traffic.

The All Blacks swept the two-Test Bledisloe Cup series.

Match Summary

0
Penalty Goals
2
5
Tries
1
4
Conversions
1
0
Drop Goals
0
155
Carries
143
9
Line Breaks
4
12
Turnovers Lost
15
9
Turnovers Won
5

It’s all about the Spring Tour now.

“We put a lot into the game, played a lot of great stuff, the first 20 and building quite nicely… just wanted a bit more, I suppose, as a result,” McReight told journalists from RugbyPass, Nine’s Wide World of Sports and AAP.

“We are growing as a team and I feel like we’ve got to take our lessons learned and come northern tour, it’s going to be epic. Four games over there.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Of the Aussies’ upcoming opponents, Scotland are the only side who – just like the Wallabies – didn’t qualify for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals last year. South Africa and Ireland beat them in pool play, but this is still an intriguing clash for Australia.

The last two Tests between Australia and Scotland have been decided by two points or less. Wales and Australia have also played out some epic battles over the years, although the Wallabies will take confidence out of their two wins in the July window.

Ireland are a Rugby World Cup quarter-finalist but they currently occupy top spot in the world rankings. That’ll be an almighty challenge for the men in gold, but their last three Tests have been decided by five points or less.

Related

But, up first, it’s Australia versus England. That’s an intense sporting rivalry that almost doesn’t need any introduction, external hype or discussion. It’s a sporting war that almost always delivers fireworks and passion.

ADVERTISEMENT

“If you look at the teams we’re coming up against, you’ve got semi-finalists, quarter-finalists, tough teams over there,” McReight explained.

“I feel like we want consistently on the board. Obviously, we want wins… we want to be competitive. It’s probably the way you want to put it.

“Wins are obvious but to be competitive on the scoreboard, competitive in most things around the park; set-piece, defence, attack.

“We don’t want it to be one way or the other for sure.”

Enter now to stand a chance of winning tickets to all three British & Irish Lions Tests vs Australia

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

1 Comment
J
JW 13 days ago

They building so well that if those England and Ireland fixtures were reversed you could see them turning the tide over their last opponent. As it is, I think both fixtures will be a step too far for them so soon.

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

E
EV 3 hours ago
Is this why Ireland and England struggle to win World Cups?

Rassie is an extremely shrewd PR operator but the hype and melodrama is a sideshow to take the attention from the real reason for the Boks dominance.


Utimately the Boks dominate because Rassie and his team are so scientific and so driven. His attention to detail and obsessive analysis smacks of Tom Brady's approach.


He has engineered a system to find and nurture talent from the best schools to the most desolate backwaters. That system has a culture and doctrine very similar to elite military units, it does not tolerate individuals at the expense of the collective.


That machine also churns out three to five world class players in every position. They are encouraged to play in Ireland, England, France and Japan where their performance continues to be monitored according to metrics that is well guarded IP.


Older players are begged to play in the less physical Japanese league as it extends their careers. No Saffa really wants to see Etzebeth or Peter Steph or Pollard play in France or British Isles. And especially not in South Africa, where you just have these big, physical young guns coming out of hyper competitive schools looking for blood.


Last but but no means the least is the rugby public's alignment with the Springbok agenda. We love it when they win between World Cups but there is zero drama if they lose a game or a string of games for the sake of squad depth.


It's taken time to put it together but it has just matured into a relentless machine.

6 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle lead race for Duhan van der Merwe Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle courting Duhan van der Merwe
Search