Byrne to put his skills to the test
It still seems odd to see Mick Byrne garbed in green-and-gold, but the switch in allegiances had nothing to do with him not meeting Steve Hansen this week.
Former All Blacks skills specialist Byrne left the world champions following their defence of the Webb Ellis Cup in late 2015, and was later recruited by Wallabies coach Michael Cheika.
Highly regarded for his rugby knowledge and man-management skills, Byrne experienced a rough ride in his first season with the Wallabies after they lost all three tests against the All Blacks.
He remains firm friends with his old coaching partners in the New Zealand camp, stating it was the tyranny of distance, not a requirement to keep the opposition at arm’s length, that prevented him from catching up with All Blacks coach Hansen ahead of the Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney.
The Wallabies have been based in the western side of the city, while their counterparts stayed in the eastern suburb of Double Bay.
‘‘We are at Penrith. He [Hansen] is not going to travel that far to come and see me and I wasn’t go that far to go and see him,’’ Byrne said yesterday. ‘‘So we will wait till we come together on Saturday night.’’
Byrne, who first began working with the All Blacks while under previous coach Graham Henry and was involved in three World Cup campaigns, spoke positively about the Wallabies’ buildup to this test and countered pre-match talk they could be overwhelmed by the fitter, more experienced New Zealanders by emphasising the relevance of the Aussies’ training camps.
‘‘I know I have got a lot of lifetime friends on the other side, but, right now, I haven’t spoken to them this week and it has just been great to be among these guys,’’ Byrne said.
‘‘And I think the extra special part for me [tonight] is seeing these guys unleash what they have been doing over the last four weeks.’’
Given they could struggle for parity in the scrums, and will also have to be aware of the need to not park too many bodies into the breakdowns, it didn’t surprise that Byrne said the Wallabies will want to attack as much as possible.
‘‘We are going to play a running game,’’ he confirmed.
‘‘That is the way ‘Cheik’ has building up all his teams, to run the ball and to play hard. Our challenge is to hang on to it. If we are going to run the ball, hang on to it and back our skills.
‘‘I think you are going to see a pretty frenetic game.’’