Will wants boppers to bash it up
WILL Genia is the Wallabies’ great believer and is certain an overdue grasp of tactical changes, to better involve the team’s big boppers, will pay off before Japan’s Rugby World Cup.
The Wallabies have just seven Tests until the Cup kickoff in Sapporo in 11 months to rid themselves of the gremlins that have beset their seven losses this year.
Beating the Welsh, in their roofed stadium in Cardiff, on November 10 – when rain, wind and tricky handling conditions are eliminated – will be a test tube for the Wallabies to get it right for 80 minutes.
The Wallabies spent their lead-up to the June series against Ireland working on moves and mindset to get the ball quickly to the edges but their 97-Test halfback admitted adapting to different methods had come too slowly since.
A crashing 25m run in midfield from prop Scott Sio, No.8 David Pocock spearing through off a neat Bernard Foley short ball and lock Rob Simmons rumbling to the tryline, only to be held up, were examples of it clicking against the All Blacks in Yokohama.
“We changed the way we played a lot for the June series against Ireland,” Genia said after the 37-20 loss on Saturday. “Now, we have adjusted back to how we played before, which is getting the forwards going through the middle then playing off the back of that.
“We’ve got some of the best ball-carrying tight forwards in the game. We’ve spoken about utilising guys like Allan (Alaalatoa), Keps (Sekope Kepu), Scotty (Sio), Folau (Faingaa) and Tolu (Latu).”