Aussies find fire in failure

IN the bowels of the Sydney Cricket Ground, where so many Australian heroics have been orchestrated, it was failure on the Wallabies’ minds.

Senior players Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper called a meeting on Thursday and passionately spoke to their teammates about the pain of losing every Bledisloe Cup series they have ever contested.

They spoke of why, after last year’s World Cup final defeat to the All Blacks, they answered the call from coach Michael Cheika, despite giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars from their French club contracts, for one more tilt.

Wallabies captain Stephen Moore said the speeches left an indelible mark on the squad ahead of the Bledisloe Test at ANZ Stadium tonight.

“The importance of the game, and this particular rival- ry, is why you keep turning up every year and wanting to play your part,” Moore said.

“It’s been great to see the guys coming back from overseas.

“How much it still means to them shows how important this rivalry is.”

While Giteau and AshleyCooper were expected to retire from Tests after the World Cup, it is almost certain they will step away after this year’s Rugby Championship.

They have already been talking about mentoring roles and helping to usher in the new generation, so it is safe to assume this is their final shot at winning back the Bledisloe Cup for Australia.

New Zealand’s 13-year winning streak has gone through five coaching regimes and countless players, many whom debuted and retired without ever holding the trophy.

Memories of John Eales, George Gregan and Steve Lar- kham dominating New Zealand in the late 1990s and early 2000s fade by the day.

Larkham, now the Wallabies backs coach, chose to play the Hunters & Collectors’ Holy Grail over the loudspeakers as the Wallabies trained for the final time yesterday.

“For me growing up, the Bledisloe was the number one trophy,” Larkham said.

“It was the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand that I always enjoyed watching and that’s where my passion for rugby came from.”

Moore said while there was desperation around recapturing the Bledisloe, his team would not allow that to overwhelm them in their quest.

“It’s about the process and playing well on the day,” Moore said.

“It’s a contest over a number of matches, but we’ve prepared for this Test and this Test only. We haven’t talked too much beyond that.”