On the eve of their first Test of the year, new defence coach Matt Taylor has promised that the Wallabies will be distinctively different from the teams of the past and that they will play a balanced game in an effort to win back the Bledisloe Cup.
Under Michael Cheika in 2019, the Wallabies attempted to run the ball at all costs.
Initially it worked as the Wallabies smashed the All Blacks in Perth to move within a single game of their first Bledisloe Cup series win since 2002, but a week later the then-world champions had cottoned on to Cheika's game-plan and returned fire with fire.
Ultimately, Cheika's one-dimensional game-plan came back to bite the Wallabies, as they were pinned down in their own half by England in the World Cup quarter-final and were forced into basic errors.
Veteran playmaker Matt To’omua admitted as much on Tuesday when he spoke to the media via zoom.
“Last year, when we tried to run it a lot more, it was probably in the context of years before, we had a certain game that hadn’t worked, so we thought we’d roll the dice in a sense. There’s bit more of a (kicking) focus (now),” To’omua said.
The appointment of two-time winning Super Rugby mentor Dave Rennie as head coach and an experienced team of assistants from around the world has, however, changed the way the Wallabies approach their game.
“Dave being a Kiwi, he’s certainly got a flavour to his coaching but I think he’s been slightly influenced with his time in the UK (with Glasgow) as well,” Taylor, the former Queensland Reds defence coach who spent the past eight years coaching in Scotland before being brought back home, said.
“What we’ve tried to do as a coaching group is, even though Dave was overseas, we (Taylor, director of rugby Scott Johnson and attack coach Scott Wisemantel) spent a lot of time sitting down and talking about the game, how we wanted to coach the Wallabies and get clarity around our certain areas and then we bounced ideas off each other. We challenged each other and we try to come up with what we believe is the best method moving forward.
“I think you’ll certainly see a change in how the Wallabies operate from maybe how it’s gone in the past.
“I think you have got to have a balance to your game, you can’t be all out defence but you can’t be all out attack and no defence. You’ve got to kick when you need to, run when you need to and it’s making those correct decisions on the run.
“Hopefully the public will see what we’re all about come the game on Sunday.”
For the first time in years, mystery surrounds the makeup of the Wallabies and the All Blacks.
Unlike their first trans-Tasman Test after the last World Cup cycle in 2016, the ANZAC rivals have brand new coaching teams following the departures of Cheika and Steve Hansen.
As well as the Wallabies’ eclectic mix, new All Blacks coach Ian Foster has graduated from the assistant role to the top job while the rest of his team has been handpicked from New Zealand’s Super Rugby sides.
The worldly feel to the Wallabies’ coaching group has added an extra dimension of intrigue about the direction Rennie’s men are headed in, particularly with 16 uncapped players included in the 44-man squad.
It was for that reason Taylor said the focus had to remain on their own backyard.
“I think both sides are starting afresh in a certain way, aren’t they,” the former Scotland defence coach said.
“The coaching group at the All Blacks is new and they’ve got some young exciting players coming through their ranks as well. We’re probably having a little bit of a guessing game between both squads in a sense.
“The main thing we’ve focused on in the new coaching environment group is embedding our structures and things like that.
“We don’t know how the All Blacks are going to operate, so we’ve just been really focused on us. We’ll have a little bit better of an idea when the team is selected.”
As well as how the Wallabies play, there’s plenty of intrigue around the makeup of the side.
Unlike years in the past, the only player guaranteed to start is Michael Hooper given he was reappointed Wallabies skipper last month.
Folau Fainga’a, Marika Koroibete, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Jordan Petaia (if fit) are the only other men close to walk-up starts, but where the latter two play is still not yet known.
Taylor was coy when asked about whether there would be many surprises in the team.
“There are a lot of players who are here who have put their hands up, in terms of selection,” he said.
“It’s good that is the case because whenever you select a squad, you want guys putting their hand up.
“I certainly think that most of the squad have put themselves in a position to be selected and we’ve just got to work on the best team that we think has the ability to win this Test match. There might be a few surprises in terms of what people think but probably not surprises to us in terms of how they’ve operated or performed in the environment.”
Meanwhile, the Wallabies are still preparing for Richie Mo’unga to wear the No.10 jersey for the All Blacks.
Both nations will name their lineups on Friday.
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