A Very Cunning plan
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Barnes and Giteau plan to divide New Zealand in two
After turning on backline magic in Brisbane, Berrick Barnes and Matt Giteau are confident they've got more aces up the sleeve to test a new-look New Zealand midfield.
Barnes was the catalyst for the Wallabies' try of the year two weeks ago when he swapped with Giteau at five-eighth and delivered an inch-perfect pass for centre Adam Ashley-Cooper to skip through the South Africa line untouched.
The Wallabies No.12 confirmed he and Giteau will continue to mix up their roles to search for similar opportunities against the new centre pairing New Zealand named on Wednesday, with Ma'a Nonu at No.12 and Isaia Toeava at outside centre.
New centre combinations are often prone to defensive lapses and though New Zealand have no doubt studied the Ashley-Cooper move, a cagey Barnes hinted there may be new sleight-of-hand gems for Nonu and Toeava to contend with.
"We have a few other things," Barnes said on arrival in Wellington.
"We were lucky enough to hit the right runner at Suncorp Stadium.
"You don't always do that, but Coop hit a good line. It is pretty tough to defend when you have blokes coming at the line all at once.
"The Boks did it to us on a couple of occasions with (Jean) De Villiers, so it just goes to show it is hard to defend when you have a lot of guys coming at you.
"A lot of depends on scrum ball. If we get a good platform we can throw those plays at people, and really attempt to fill it up. We'll have a go."
The skills of Barnes and Giteau could prove a decisive factor in Australia's hunt for their first win over the All Blacks in six matches.
Their ability to switch positions can confuse defensive lines, as seen with Giteau's second-line decoy proving instrumental in opening up a gap for Ashley-Cooper.
Up against the heavyweight Nonu-Toeava pair, the Wallabies will hope to exploit any confusion or slow reactions to slice through.
The left-right foot kicking threat of Giteau and Barnes is also an advantage in windy Wellington, but despite the conditions both sides appear keen to end the Tri Nations with a display of running rugby.
"We will play to the conditions but we would like to play some attacking footy. This is our last game for a while," Barnes said.
"I think the (All) Blacks will do the same. They've got nothing to lose."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...016959,00.html
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Originally Posted by mudskipper
