Wallabies get serious in Tokyo

October 26, 2009 - 5:12PM


Before channelling all their energy towards completing a coveted grand slam sweep of the UK and Ireland, the Wallabies have the small matter of dealing with the All Blacks in Tokyo on Saturday.

After a forgettable winter, the Wallabies are desperate not to be remembered as the first Australian team in 47 years - and only the third side in more than a century of trans-Tasman rugby rivalry - to lose four Tests in a single season to New Zealand.

So while the tantalising prospect of emulating the legendary 1984 grand slammers of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales is the obvious attention grabber, the more immediate focus for the Robbie Deans-coached class of 2009 is avoiding a dubious place in the history books.

Vice-captain Berrick Barnes acknowledges the Bledisloe Cup stoush at the National Stadium could well shape the historic tour for the 35-man Wallabies squad.

Barnes says it's vital the Wallabies regain some credibility before arriving in the UK after suffering five defeats from six Tri Nations Tests, including a hat-trick of losses to New Zealand, culminating in last month's 33-6 capitulation in Wellington.

"That's something we've talked about the last three weeks - trying to win back a lot of respect," Barnes said on Monday.

"Not just in our part of the world but up north as well because they'll be looking to knock us off for sure.

"So this is one big stepping stone for that to happen."

A well overdue victory - which would snap a six-match losing streak against the All Blacks - would provide the Wallabies with an immeasurable shot of confidence ahead of the grand slam component of the five-week, seven-game tour, which also takes in mid-week encounters with Gloucester and Cardiff.

"It would give us a big boost," Barnes said of taking a win over the All Blacks into the grand slam tour.

"Obviously our performances have warranted the criticisms we've got, so definitely a good result this weekend would certainly help.

"We've only got ourselves to look at there and going over (to the UK with a win under our belt) will send a message to the other teams that we're fair dinkum as well.

"Probably right now they'll (the teams on the grand slam tour) be looking at us thinking they can knock us off as well and that we're probably the easiest of the three southern hemisphere teams to beat.
© 2009 AAP

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By Darren Walton in Tokyo, Japan

October 26, 2009 .Before channelling all their energy towards completing a coveted Grand Slam sweep, the Wallabies have the small matter of dealing with New Zealand in Tokyo on Saturday.

After a forgettable winter, the Wallabies are desperate not to be remembered as the first Australian team in 47 years - and only the third side in more than a century of trans-Tasman rugby rivalry - to lose four Tests in a single season to New Zealand.

So while the tantalising prospect of emulating the legendary 1984 Grand Slam side of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales is the obvious attention grabber, the more immediate focus for the Robbie Deans-coached class of 2009 is avoiding a dubious place in the history books.

Vice-captain Berrick Barnes acknowledges the Bledisloe Cup stoush at the National Stadium could well shape the historic tour for the 35-man Wallabies squad.

Barnes says it's vital the Wallabies regain some credibility before arriving in the UK after suffering five defeats from six Tri Nations Tests, including a hat-trick of losses to New Zealand, culminating in last month's 33-6 capitulation in Wellington.

"That's something we've talked about the last three weeks - trying to win back a lot of respect," Barnes said on Monday.

"Not just in our part of the world but up north as well because they'll be looking to knock us off for sure.

"So this is one big stepping stone for that to happen."

A well overdue victory - which would snap a six-match losing streak against the All Blacks - would provide the Wallabies with an immeasurable shot of confidence ahead of the Grand Slam component of the five-week, seven-game tour, which also takes in mid-week encounters with Gloucester and Cardiff.

"It would give us a big boost," Barnes said of taking a win over the All Blacks into the Grand Slam tour.

"Obviously our performances have warranted the criticisms we've got, so definitely a good result this weekend would certainly help.

"We've only got ourselves to look at there and going over (to the UK with a win under our belt) will send a message to the other teams that we're fair dinkum as well.

"Probably right now they'll (the teams on the Grand Slam tour) be looking at us thinking they can knock us off as well and that we're probably the easiest of the three southern hemisphere teams to beat.

"So we'd like to send them a message."

AAP

Echo...echo...?

Greg Growden | October 27, 2009

TOKYO: The Wallabies want to not just remind the All Blacks of their existence during Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup Test, but also the Home Nations that they are not the easybeats of the southern hemisphere.

Australian rugby's level of esteem has slumped in recent months, following a dreadful Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup campaign, to the extent they no longer are respected as highly as the All Blacks and Springboks.

Wallabies vice-captain Berrick Barnes is aware of this, and yesterday stressed the team wanted to use the final trans-Tasman match of the season at Tokyo's National Stadium as a vehicle to ''right some wrongs''.

Barnes, who is expected to be selected at five-eighth ahead of Matt Giteau when the Wallabies Test team is announced tonight, said that after just one Tri Nations win in six games, they deserved all the criticism they had received.

''So it's crucial for us to have a good result here,'' Barnes said. ''It will also send a message to the teams we are playing in the grand slam leg of the tour that we are fair dinkum. Probably right now they are looking at us thinking they can knock us off, and that we are the easiest of the three southern hemisphere teams to beat.

''What we have talked about the last three weeks is winning back some respect, not just in our part of the world, but also up north. This is a big stepping stone for us.''

That will require the Wallabies returning to the level that made them a threat to the All Blacks in Sydney in August, rather than the limp outfit that basically gave up in the final minutes of the Wellington debacle a month later, to lose 33-6. That was among Australia's worst performances of recent times.

It also stretched the All Blacks' winning sequence over the Wallabies to six Tests, prompting Australian prop Ben Alexander to explain yesterday that one of his prime motivations this weekend was the fact he had never experienced success over New Zealand.

Barnes said the key for that to happen was for the Wallabies to be smarter.

''We need our enthusiasm to last 80 minutes,'' he said. ''We've been poor at certain stages of the Tests this year, and the All Blacks make you pay. But mentally we know we can beat them.''

Barnes said his relationship with Giteau, which had been tested by the anticipated back-line switch involving the pair and that the younger player had been preferred to the long-time five-eighth for captaincy honours, was healthy.

When asked who would be calling the back-line moves against the All Blacks, Barnes replied: ''Matt and I will share them. We've worked out everything the last couple of weeks, so there's no crap between us or that sort of thing. We're good to go, and hopefully we can prove that on the weekend.''

He was also adamant that despite being a senior leader on this tour, he would remain exactly the same person, with his prime role being to help the new captain, Rocky Elsom.

''Robbie [Deans, coach] doesn't want me to change at all, and I won't be changing anything,'' Barnes said.

''I'm not one for big speeches, but I will trying to bring in some enthusiasm at training, and help the younger guys who have come into the camp. It's only a few years ago when I was doing exactly the same thing. So I know how daunting it sometimes can be.

''I'm there to help Rocky. He'll be the one dealing with the referee, and that's something we definitely need because we've been getting killed there in recent games, rightly or wrongly.

''Richie [McCaw] is there all the time, and he's right in the ear [of the referee]. And he's smart at it. That is something we have to be on even par with."

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With foul weather striking Tokyo this week, the Wallabies concede they will need to be tactically perfect to reverse their sorry run of losses against the All Blacks in Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash.

Rain has lashed Japan's national capital ever since the Wallabies arrived at the weekend for the historic fixture and the worst of the dire conditions is still to come, according to forecasts.

"Someone's given me the mail that we've got some mini typhoon coming tomorrow morning," Wallabies vice-captain Berrick Barnes said on Monday.

"It's been pretty rotten here so far. You've only got to hope that that's going to clear up, but both teams are going to have to play in it if it is like that."

Coach Robbie Deans will name his Australian team on Tuesday and is tipped to move Barnes to five-eighth and start Matt Giteau at inside centre.

Barnes said regardless of where the two midfielders lined up, he and Giteau needed to match New Zealand's superstar flyhalf Dan Carter in the tactical kicking stakes if the Wallabies are to snap a six-Test losing streak against the All Blacks.

"We've got to be better in our strategic play," Barnes said.

"History has proven that we probably haven't played strategically as well as what the All Blacks have and that was especially probably shown up (last month) in Wellington, where Dan Carter was pretty much on the spot with his kicking.

"Even (All Blacks fullback) Mils (Muliaina) with his high balls coming back.

"So that's a big onus on the guys in the ball-playing positions and obviously the 15 and the wings - that we have our kicking spot-on this weekend.

"And even if it isn't spot on, we've got to make sure our chase is a lot better than what it has been.

"At the breakdown and probably the kick-chase is probably where the All Blacks have been beating us in the last few games and it's something that we really need to rectify."

Barnes, who often directed play from five-eighth during the Tri-Nations tournament, says he and Giteau have a good understanding of their twin roles as midfield generals and insists making the right calls in the heat of another Bledisloe Cup battle won't be a problem - no matter who wears the No.10 jumper.

"We'll share the calls," he said.

"That will predominately be between us and we'll go through them. We've worked out everything sort of between us for the last few weeks so there's no crap or anything like that there.

"So we're good to go and hopefully we can prove that on the weekend."

Barnes also said too much fuss had been made about his selection as vice-captain, behind newly-appointed skipper Rocky Elsom but ahead of more-experienced candidates Giteau and flanker George Smith.

"I was surprised because usually it (the vice-captain) isn't sort of known and it's something that's been made a bit of a deal of," he said.

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