WALLABIES BUILD OFF SUCCESSES
“WE want to win trophies.”
They are five simple words from Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper that will be music to the ears of rugby fans across the country.
It is the new and improved Wallabies. The Wallabies that have knocked off the world champions two weekends in a row.
It is a Wallabies side that has found its confidence and groove on the training paddock in Townsville this week.
But Hooper was adamant it was not a Wallabies side with a short-term memory.
Australian rugby knows what it feels like to be searching for success, and now it has found it, the skipper was adamant they would do everything they could to hold on to it.
“Confidence is high and also belief within our game plan and what we are trying to execute is greater,” Hooper said.
“The pitfalls of that is not sticking to that or moving away from something we are trying to develop.
“Off two losses you are trying to find that solution. When you find it, it is about how we can grow on that and be comfortable with the little things we are doing.
“We’re looking to grow again. We think we can improve as a team. It is a different opponent this week who poses different threats and different opportunities. We need to be clued on to that. I want to grow our game and develop a runway to what it could look like.”
It is that mentality which has Hooper on high alert at Queensland Country Bank
Stadium when the Wallabies take on Argentina tonight.
The Pumas come into the clash off a four-game losing streak, but for a nation that wears its passion as a badge of honour, Hooper said the Wallabies could not take them lightly.
“Any Test match can go either way,” he said. “I think it is great about the current state of rugby in the world, it is game on every time.
“Just because we have had two results and an improved result from one weekend to the next, that is what we need to keep doing. Argentina pose very different threats but no less dangerous.
“They are capable of some exciting rugby, the Pumas. Their ability to move the ball, they have top athletes in their team. They are great over the top of the ball in terms of turnovers. They get the ball back and they can hurt you if you are sloppy.
“If our discipline is poor, like it was at times last year, they can go three, six, nine on the scoreboard pretty easy. We are fully aware they are coming up here to win.”