Kerevi: Wallabies can bounce back

Smashed 43-12 by South Africa in Pretoria on Sunday morning (AEST), the Wallabies arrived back in Sydney on Monday afternoon ahead of this weekend’s clash against Argentina at CommBank Stadium.

Kerevi, who made his Wallabies return from a knee injury via the bench in the heavy defeat, was confident the Eddie Jones-coached Australians could turn their fortunes around in time for the Rugby World Cup, which starts in September in France.

The Wallabies have just four Tests scheduled before their Cup opener against Georgia on September 10.

And that’s enough games to find some much-needed form, according to Kerevi.

“It’s a marathon. It’s not a full sprint,” the former Queensland Reds captain said.

“We want to build nicely into the World Cup. We’ve got a deep squad so each game is an opportunity to get better.

“We were definitely disappointed with our performance on the weekend. South Africa outplayed us.

“It wasn’t good enough … and we’ve got to better this week (against Argentina).”

Kerevi said there were no excuses being sought by the Wallabies despite the Test having been the first under Jones since he was appointed in January for a second stint as Australia’s coach.

“For us even though it’s our first Test together, we still set ourselves really high standards and this weekend we’ve got to turn things around,” he said.

“We know what we need to do to get better. We know we have the capabilities in the squad to perform, but individually we’ve got to look at ourselves, and look at the solutions we need to make and the changes we need to make for this week, and we’ll be better for it.

“We’ve got to put out a really good performance that our fans and our country will be proud of. We know what’s at stake and who we represent.”

Kerevi said his team had to be ready on Saturday night for a “passionate” Argentine side coached by former Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika.

Cheika’s side also lost on the weekend, going down 41-12 to New Zealand in Mendoza.

“Cheika’s going to bring over an Argentina side that’s going to be firing after their (loss),” he said.

“We’ve still got to focus on ourselves … but the Argentinians are a really passionate group from a really passionate country so we’ve got to be prepared for that.”

Kerevi said he was ready to start this weekend if given the chance.

“My body’s feeling good and my mind’s in great shape,” he said.

Originally published as Samu Kerevi says the Wallabies can find their best form in time for the Rugby World Cup