A's to bounce back
June 19, 2007 - 9:56am
Story by: Sportal
Australia A has begun preparations for the final match of the Pacific Nations Cup to be played in Suva on Saturday.
The A's will look to finish the campaign on a positive note after suffering a comprehensive defeat at the hands of the Junior All Blacks at Carisbrook on Saturday.
Coach Laurie Fisher said he was not surprised by the performance of the Juniors but admitted his side didn't measure up to their own expectations.
"We compounded error on error and we had a few guys who hadn't had a lot of rugby so I think all those things added up," Fisher said.
"I think primarily (the problem is) just in the contact area … we had looseness in our game there so they (Juniors) really won those small battles to get gain line and quick release, so I think we've got to sharpen up in that area."
Fisher told Sportal on Monday the mood among the players remains positive, and while they will look to learn from their mistakes the focus among the group is set firmly on the future.
"There's plenty of rugby games to be played in the future, we had a good review session this morning with backs and forwards."
"We looked at areas where we were deficient and areas that we need to improve our game, not just for this week but for the betterment of our rugby generally," Fisher said.
With the Wallaby selectors primarily responsible for selecting the Australia A line-up, Fisher expects changes but said players on the fringe of Wallaby selection will be given valuable game time.
"The new guys that came in, they're (selectors), pretty keen to give them some more football; guys like (Rodney) Blake, (Hugh) McMeniman and Shep (Cameron Shepherd), who haven't really played much so they need some more football under their belt."
"I think we'll probably make a couple of other changes, see a couple of guys in different positions with a view to potential World Cup selections, so there will be changes," Fisher said.
The A's will continue preparations in Auckland before travelling to Fiji on Thursday, ahead of Saturday's game at the National Stadium, Suva.
