Hopes of toppling All Blacks
Kurtley Beale (above) believes the Wallabies can end two years of misery against the All Blacks tonight at Suncorp Stadium.
JIM TUCKER the dictates of history that they always beat us.
“We can play with a certain freedom because the Bledisloe Cup stuff is over (2-0) and the pressure is on the Kiwis.”
Beale’s late diving try to put the Wallabies ahead in Dunedin would have entered folklore for the first Test win on Kiwi soil in 16 years but for the All Blacks’ mighty five-pass try at the death.
Jones feels the pall over this season has obscured a proper appreciation of Beale’s on-field maturity, his quicksilver darts, playmaking and sheer resilience to stall Sonny Bill Williams in the best Wallaby moments.
“He’s a freak, the modernday Mark Ella who can do everything,” Jones said of the centre.
“I hope the board of Australian rugby understand the damage they have done to the image of the game and the consequence of devaluing the showpiece of the Wallabies.
“These boys have been swimming against the tide with the rubbish that has gone on with the Western Force, SANZAAR and money issues.
“The public have thought they are better off watching Cam Smith and the beautiful rugby league of the Melbourne Storm, AFL or Timmy Cahill but the Wallabies are as good.
“Beale is as good as any football athlete in the country bar none.”
The Wallabies must be all over the All Blacks from the kick-off tonight and it will be defensive pressure that counts because the home side has shown it can score the tries.
The Wallabies have already scored as many tries (39) in nine Tests this year as in 15 last year and 22 of those have been triggered from lineouts.
Lineout throwing polish in the turbulent final 20 minutes is one of the reasons warrior hooker Stephen Moore has been picked on the bench and a decisive set-play try from such a base would be worthy of his final hometown Test.