Mick ‘The Kick’ backs Wallabies

Skills coach Mick Byrne has urged Wallabies fans to be patient after their Bledisloe Cup bumbles and insists there have been ‘‘huge improvements’’ in skill sets on the training field.

The former All Blacks coaching staff member admitted the Wallabies’ errors were unacceptable in last week’s 54-34 loss in Sydney, but was confident his charges would soon turn the corner.

Australian rugby great Michael Lynagh lambasted the ‘‘non- existent skill sets’’ in Sydney, lamenting poor catching, passing and tackling execution.

But Byrne said on Tuesday there had been ‘‘great energy’’ in this week’s training sessions in Christchurch and he was hopeful the rewards would seen on the Forsyth Barr Stadium pitch in Dunedin on Saturday night.

‘‘When you’re talking about a dropped pass or a missed tackle, they’re skills sets and yeah, they weren’t up to scratch.

‘‘But when you’re out there as a group working on changing habits, [it takes] a period of time.’’

Byrne said he understood errors were ‘‘unacceptable sometimes, but when you know where you’re going and you know the areas you want to get better at, you don’t see it as a weakness, you see it as an opportunity to get better’’.

He said he had noticed ‘‘fantastic’’ improvements in the Wallabies skills since joining Michael Cheika’s backroom staff after a long stint with the All Blacks.

‘‘What we know, and it’s been no different in any environment I’ve been in, you see the improvements on the training field. If you’re not seeing it on the training field, that’s where I get frustrated and start to question what we’re doing.

Byrne said he had seen ‘‘huge improvements there’’ and he predicted, ‘‘with persistence’’ that it would ‘‘start to transfer out onto the game’’.

He said skill changes had taken time in the All Blacks environ- ment too.

‘‘If you go back, 2007 wasn’t a flash year for us [the All Blacks], trying to get things right.

‘‘But when it clicks into gear and you turn the corner, you turn it pretty quickly. The key is persevering with it.’’

The Wallabies have not won the Bledisloe Cup since 2002 and their supporters were despondent at last week’s defeat.

Byrne said rugby fans ‘‘everywhere in the world get impatient’’.

Even the All Blacks had faced some heat when they lost a game to the Lions despite ‘‘a great per- formance [to come back] when they were 14 [points down]’’.

‘‘I think that’s the rugby community these days... They expect 100 per cent outcomes,’’ he said, suggesting it was part of society’s ’’instant gratification’’ syndrome.

‘‘Yes, there’s frustration, no doubt about it, but I can tell you there’s a group of guys in there getting ready to train today, and there’s no-one more frustrated than them right now.’’

The former Australian Rules star said last week’s game did not look good ‘‘from the scoreboard point of view and some of the errors we made’’, but the Wallabies ‘‘took some great learnings’’ and felt there were ‘‘some good opportunities for us there if we stick to our game’’.

Byrne said despite his long involvement with the All Blacks there was little point in trying to ‘‘second guess’’ Steve Hansen’s team.

‘‘Yes, I’ve been there, but they’ve evolved their game. The challenge for us in that areas is to work on ourselves, get ourselves right and produce the best quality team we can produce on Saturday, and hopefully that’s good enough.’’