Australia A must lift

by: Steve Orme
Sportal

Australia A will look for a much improved performance against Samoa in its Pacific Nations Cup clash in Coffs Harbour on Saturday.

A comprehensive 60-15 victory over Tonga in the series opener did little to impress Australia A skipper Al Campbell, who said his team's basic skills execution was poor.

The A squad will have added incentive this week as it gets a taste of life at the plush Wallabies Training Centre in Coffs Harbour.

The Samoans are expected to provide a tough test for the home side as they look to reverse last week's 31-10 loss to the Junior All Blacks.

"It's going to be a step up for us, we're going to improve to move forward and to beat them," Campbell said.

While a disjointed preparation was partly responsible for a patchy performance against Tonga, the players will have no such excuses on Saturday.

"It's great to have a fantastic training deck and recovery facilities and all that type of thing, so, all those little things make a massive difference in your preparation," Campbell said.

"There's very little distraction up here so we can just focus on getting better this week, and hopefully we do, and that'll lay a good foundation for Saturday."

With Wallaby spots still up for grabs for the World Cup, the skipper strongly believes solid team performances are the best way for individual players to gain higher honours.

"At the end of the day everyone in his this squad whether they've been there (Wallabies team) or not still have huge aspirations to move forward," Campbell said.

"The important part for the coaching staff and the leadership group in this set-up is that we look to play as a team."

"If we play as a team and put good performances on then it gives every one the best chance individually to move forward," he said.

The Australia A squad trained strongly on Tuesday including Western Force flanker David Pocock, who has recovered from the minor medial ligament strain he suffered against Tonga.

Australia A's 22-man squad will be named on Wednesday morning with the Samoans also set to touch down in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday night.