Wallabies happy with ABS defeat
The Wallabies have taunted Steve Hansen over the All Blacks’ loss in Dublin, declaring they were ‘‘super happy for Ireland’’ as tension between the Bledisloe Cup rivals rises to the surface again.
Earlier this week Hansen said the Wallabies were ‘‘not quite right’’ following a series of disappointing performances, a comment that sparked a bitter response from Wallabies defence coach Nathan Grey.
‘‘We’ve beaten them [the All Blacks] a couple of times in the last couple of years so yeah, it’s great for Ireland to get their first win at home against them,’’ Grey told the Daily
Telegraph in London, where the Wallabies are preparing to face England tomorrow. ‘‘[I’m] super happy for Ireland to get that win.’’
Hansen was responding to claims the All Blacks had been hindered by a sub-par Wallabies team in terms of preparing for the tough tests in the northern hemisphere.
The All Blacks won all three Bledisloe Cup tests comfortably this year, with the smallest winning margin being 17 points.
However, Grey defended the Wallabies’ record and said there was little between the top half-dozen test sides in the world.
‘‘New Zealand have been consistent over a long period of time,’’ Grey told the Daily Telegraph.
‘‘There’s opportunities to beat any team in the world at the moment. You’ve just got to make sure it’s the team that’s going to be the most consistent in delivering how they play because if you’re off you’re going to lose, and we’ve shown that against New Zealand a number of times. Other teams have against them as well.’’
The All Blacks have struggled to replicate the attacking fluency they showed against the Wallabies against England and Ireland, leading Hansen to say the Australians were underperforming.
‘‘I still believe Australia are a really good rugby side,’’ he said.
‘‘There is definitely something missing because they are not quite right and are not performing to the level they can.’’
The Wallabies beat the All Blacks in Brisbane last year but since then have been on a wretched run.