ABs to get Wallabies preview
The All Blacks will get a look at how the Wallabies are shaping up for Bledisloe I after coach Michael Cheika announced he would hold an internal trial match in Sydney next Friday.
The game, one day before the Super Rugby final is due to be held, has been designed to drill some match fitness into his Wallabies squad after three Australian teams failed to qualify for the Super Rugby finals.
‘‘We were keen to have more Super Rugby teams playing for longer, obviously, and if we look at the last two years we just want to keep the intensity of footy up,’’ Cheika said.
‘‘Spending five weeks on the sideline before a Bledisloe test match is not what we want ideally. We want guys to play footy.’’
Waratahs players will not take part in the game, which will be streamed live on rugby.com.au and will no doubt be watched with interest by the All Blacks coaches.
‘‘It’s not just about the contact, because you can get all that in training,’’ Cheika said.
‘‘But just the little things. The pressure in front of a crowd, the referee telling you what to do, the dressing room build up, all those things. The mental side of footy.’’
The Wallabies are desperate to avoid a repeat of the past two years, when they looked underdone in the Sydney tests and were blown off the park by rampant All Blacks sides.
In the corresponding fixture last year, the All Blacks exploded out of the blocks to a 40-7 halftime lead before running out 54-34 winners.
The Wallabies’ trial match has echoes of the All Blacks’ wellestablished ‘game of three halves’ fixture, which this year will be held in Christchurch on Friday, August 10, and involve Canterbury and Otago.
The All Blacks have used that hit-out to sharpen combinations and get in a bit of contact before they head to Sydney.
The second Bledisloe test will be held at Eden Park, Auckland on August 25.