The Wallabies shouldn’t be ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water’ after two Bledisloe defeats, back Dane Haylett-Petty says.
A combined scoreline of 78-26 across the two Tests and another lost Bledisloe Cup series makes for ugly reading if you’re an Australian supporter.
Haylett-Petty said the lopsided finishes didn’t reflect the contests, with New Zealand pouncing on every Wallabies mistake.
“It’s easy to throw the baby out with the bath water when you look at the scoreline but we actually did a lot of things right, I think,” he said.
“We just killed on turnovers and there’s not a lot of teams in world rugby that will hurt you like that from your mistakes.”
Haylett-Petty dismissed criticisms his team wasn’t fit enough after the All Blacks ran away with two big Bledisloe wins after both Tests were tight at half-time.
“I don’t think we’re not fit enough no,” he said.
“We’re probably, I don’t know, it’s something we need to go back over the game plan whether we could work smarter not harder.
“I don’t necessarily think it’s a fitness thing.
“If anything, concentration, we let ourselves down and you see other teams capitalise.”
The Wallabies have a week in their own states this week before reconvening in Brisbane for a Test against the Springboks.
Haylett-Petty is back in Perth training with the Western Force NRC side ahead of their season opener on September 2.
Though he’s unlikely to play for the side, his alignment means he has more opportunity to spend time with his family between Test trips.
He is the only former Force player who made the switch back to Perth but Haylett-Petty said there were a whole host of factors in each player’s decision.
“I think it’s always a bit harder,” he said.
“A lot of those (other) guys have shifted their lives over to other teams.
“I’ve still got all my family here, get to come home and spend time with mum and my sister, so it’s probably a bit easier.”
Haylett-Petty said he expected the NRC to be tight this year, with a host of Super Rugby players featuring in the sides.
“In the earlier years the depth might not have been there but you start looking at the teams now -Brisbane city have got Quade (Cooper) and Karmichael (Hunt) running around,” he said.
“There’s teams stacked full of Super Rugby players, the Force team pretty much played World Series Rugby, so I’m expecting some high level attacking rugby.”
The Western Force takes on Brisbane City on Sunday September 2, kicking off at 3pm AEST, LIVE on FOX SPORTS.
