Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto believes the forward pack needs to nail their set-pieces if they wish to upset the All Blacks ahead of the second Test.
In windy and wild conditions, the visitors struggled to find their mark at line-out time as they looked to establish themselves at Eden Park.
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In their first three lineouts of the game inside the All Blacks half, they failed to deal with the pressure, committing two handling errors before an errant throw by Brandon Paenga-Amosa gave the Kiwis the turnover.
Whilst they were near-perfect for the rest of the game, Salakaia-Loto admits they can't afford to pass up opportunities inside the All Blacks half, feeling like they 'let the backs down.'
“As locks and a forward pack, we pride ourselves on our line outs and a scrum so for us, we’re trying to deliver clinical set pieces,” he told the media on Tuesday.
“We took that on the chin, we reviewed it so will make some fixes and make sure we’re better for it this week.
“You’ve got to take these opportunities against good opposition like this. There were a few missed on our behalf and we’ve got to cop that and it’s up to us to fix that.
“We were in good parts of the field and they’re the opportunities you need to take. We put ourselves in those positions and let our backs down but we’re good enough to bounce back and know the work we have to do on and off the field to rectify that and put in a good line-out performance.”
The Wallabies were hurt by tries on either side of the half-time break, allowing the All Blacks to race away with the game as they strolled to a 33-8 lead.
Salakaia-Loto and the side are well-aware of the threats the Kiwis possess during that period however stressed the importance of putting in a complete performance.
“We don’t go out and clock off ten minutes either side of halftime. That’s just how the game goes and went on the weekend so for us, we’ve got to tighten some screw there,” he added.
“We know how dangerous they are either side of half-time. That’s a period they thrive in. For us, it’s not just those ten minutes, it’s a full 80-minute performance and that’s what that means for us.
“We can’t afford to switch off there. We've got to be clinical and be on our toes because it takes 80 minutes plus more to beat sides like this.”
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