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THE man who dismantled England’s Ashes dominance believes a similar template of aggression and self-confidence can help the Wallabies’ quest to end the All Blacks’ Bledisloe Cup reign.
Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann gave his appraisal yesterday ahead of a bromantic dinner between his team and the Wallabies squad in Sydney last night.
The two sides have a fast-developing camaraderie after the former Queensland connection of Lehmann and Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie saw the cricketers attend Australia’s first Test win over France in Brisbane in June as guests of honour.
In camp again this week, the cricketers are sharing a hotel with the Wallabies and the two squads, bursting with million-dollar names, broke bread and shared ideas at the Sydney Intercontinental.
Despite being entirely different athletes, there was much for the Wallabies to learn from Lehmann and Michael Clarke’s men after they ended five years of English dominance last summer to regain the Ashes.
Having lost 11 straight Bledisloe Cups, Australia must beat the All Blacks in the first of three Tests on Saturday night in Sydney to be any serious chance of finally turning the black tide.
Lehmann engineered the utter collapse of England with a return to an old-school brand of Australian cricket, centred on unyielding aggression and self-belief.
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