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Wallabies turn to heroes of 2002 for inspiration ahead of first Bledisloe
The Wallabies hope some wise words from Chris Latham and other past Australian heroes will help the team end their Bledisloe Cup hoodoo over the next fortnight.
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Australia haven’t held the Bledisloe Cup since retaining the trophy in 2002, but NZ’s recent wobbles have given the Wallabies hope the drought is about to end.
Wallabies players were all ears as Latham, Elton Flatley and Daniel Herbert spoke to them on Sunday, highlighting key aspects needed for Bledisloe Cup glory.
“It was good to have them in and share how they felt, the last ones to win the Bledisloe Cup,” Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said ahead of Thursday night’s Cup opener at Marvel Stadium.
“The key message from the guys who last won it in 2002 – they often spoke about accountability, how tough they were on each other and the high expectations around how they trained and how they played.
“They ended up with a lot of players of a world-class standard. They were able to play a game that was high skill, high tempo.
“It was a very good side in the late 90s, early 2000s.”
NZ have lost their aura of invincibility after losing four of their seven Tests in 2022 to sink to fourth in the world rankings.
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All Blacks fullback Will Jordan said the Bledisloe Cup still held pride of place.
“Massively, we don’t take it for granted and we’ve done some stuff this week around the history of it,” he said.
“Sam Whitelock had a pretty great scene-set for us that tells us about the history of it and what it means.
“We hold that trophy up pretty highly and at the moment it’s up for grabs, so we know we’ve got to go out and win it again this year.
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All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke said the young players wanted to do the jersey proud and keep the Bledisloe Cup dominance going.
“For the boys who have been here the longest, like Sam, you can see how much it means,” Clarke said.
“We heard from (former All Black) Wayne Smith, he was part of the team that lost it and he talked about how hard it was to get it back. We don’t want to be that team to lose it as well.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
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