Wallabies vow to ‘level up’ defence as critics unload

There‘ll be no respite for the Wallabies in Dunedin this week either despite looming changes to the All Blacks team which smashed the Aussies at the MCG with Kiwi coach Ian Foster adamant there are “no dead rubbers” in the Bledisloe Cup or a World Cup year.

Props Tom Lambert and Zane Nonggorr have joined the Wallabies squad after the crushing Achilles injury to co-captain Allan Alaalatoa and a rib issue for Taniela Tupou with co-captain Michael Hooper still unavailable.

Having seized the Bledisloe Cup for a 22nd year in last Saturday’s 38-7 win, the Kiwis look set to inject former skipper Sam Whitelock in to the starting line-up for what will be his last Test on home soil in Dunedin.

Foster, also coaching his final Test in New Zealand, said there would be changes to his team but that didn’t mean a change in ambitions to smash their rivals.

“We love the words dead rubber from one perspective, because that means we have done the job in the first test,‘’ he said.

”But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a Test match. It’s a vital cog on our little step for the World Cup.

“It‘s another chance to have a look at a few options, both in the way we play and in personnel. I think it’s fair to say you will see a couple of changes.’’

He said captain Sam Cane, who didn’t play in Melbourne because of a sore neck, was unlikely to be risked and wouldn’t play unless he was fully fit.

The Wallabies were picked apart by the All Blacks at the MCG, in the second-half in particular, scoring three tries in eight minutes as the Australian defence crumbled.

Hodgson, the former Wests Tigers captain was brought in to steel up the Wallabies defence as part of Jones’ new-look coaching team having worked with him during his stint in charge of England.

But in three matches the Wallabies have conceded 114 points to first South Africa, then Argentina and finally New Zealand last weekend.

Former Wallabies assistant coach Laurie Fisher suggested the fact Hodgson had never played rugby union was an issue and Wallabies flanker Tom Hooper said he had made “tweaks” to the system.

But Hooper said it was execution letting them down and that was the area of improvement needed for the return clash this weekend. it

“As with every different coach they have their own flavour,” he said on Monday.

“But I think it’s not the framework which is the problem. He’s given us a really good defensive system to work with and it’s just our ability to execute and make those one-on-one tackles.

“You could see (at the MCG) quite often we were making good reads defensively and we had good numbers there and it was just executing the tackles.”

Giant 140kg lock Will Skelton said the Wallabies needed to “level up physicality wise” to be any chance against the All Blacks.

Hooper said Jones, who remained positive among the disappointment of the loss, wanted to “channel” the anger of the Wallabies in to getting improvement fast.

“He knows the only place we are going to make fixes is at training and that’s how we are going to present a good picture,” Hooper said.

“He knows we are all hurting, he knows we’re all humans and when you get beaten by a score like that you are not coming off with a smile on our face.

“He’s just going to channel that anger within all of us onto the training pitch and make sure we get quality work done through that week and that’s how we present a better picture next week.”

Originally published as Wallabies blame execution not defensive system for Bledisloe Cup smashing