Josh ready to grab his big chance
WALES WALLABIES: V ALL THE BUILD-UP TO THE BIG MATCH –
CONSISTENCY was the watchword at Michael Cheika’s press conference at the Arms Park this week.
His Australia side have earned plenty of plaudits in recent times, notably for the way they held on to beat their trans-Tasman foes New Zealand in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago.
They also have the Indian sign over Wales, a 12-match winning run stretching back to 2008, when Warren Gatland was yet to celebrate his firstyear anniversary at the helm.
The bookies and the pundits are again favouring a golden afternoon in Cardiff.
But just how good are they? What are the Wallaby strengths Wales need to counter? And, more importantly, are there areas of weakness for Gatland’s side to exploit?
Here, we take an in-depth look at the size of the task facing Wales...
How have the Aussies fared since they were last on these shores?
Following the 32-8 rout of Wales last autumn, the 2015 World Cup finalists racked up wins over Scotland and France before losing to Ireland in Dublin and then England at Twickenham.
This year, it’s been a slow-burner for the Wallabies, an unconvincing win over Fiji in Melbourne was followed by a shock defeat to Scotland and another scratchy home victory against Italy.
They faced embarrassment against the All Blacks in the opening Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney when they trailed 40-6 at half-time, but did at least rescue some face with a gutsy rearguard in the second period.
Cheika’s men had another defeat in Dunedin, but are unbeaten in their last six matches, a run that has included two draws against the improving Springboks and the scalp of the world champions in Brisbane last month – their first win over their Kiwi foes in two years.
Where do their main strengths lie?
Bernard Foley is a shrewd playmaker who possesses the vision to put players through gaps and the pace to ghost through his own.
Outside him, Cheika has picked two heavyweights in his midfield in Fijian-born duo Samu Kerevi and Tevita Kuridrani – who shared five of their side’s nine tries against Japan. Owen Williams, on his first start for his country, can expect a stern examination of his defensive capabilites.
But although Gatland has predicted a route-one approach from the visitors, you rarely see an Australian team play without width and they will surely look to utilise the pace, invention and power of Kurtley Beale, Reece Hodge and Marika Koroibete in their back three.
At this week’s team announcement at the Arms Park, Cheika played down the back-row battle of the breakdown, but in Michael Hooper he boasts one of the best in the business, an all-action openside with gundog instincts at the contact area.
There is also an obvious imbalance in the experience of the respective benches with the Aussies able to call on former captain Stephen Moore (126 caps), Ben McCalman (50 caps) and Nick Phipps (59 caps).
No Wales replacement has more than 14 caps to their name.
Are there any potential weaknesses Wales can exploit?
Any side is going to miss a player of Israel Folau’s quality, even if Beale is a proven match-winner, as Wales have found to their cost.
Up front, whenever Australia pitch up in the northern hemisphere their scrum always comes under scrutiny.
However, aided by the expertise of Pumas scrum guru Mario Ledesma, the 2015 Rugby World Cup saw Australia answer the perennial question marks surrounding their set-piece with Scott Sio proving a real find.
That said, it is still not a major weapon and Wales should at the very least enjoy parity in that battle.
Gatland’s side will also be boosted by seeing Japan run in three tries and score 30 points in Yokohama last weekend.
One to watch
Australia have a history of converting outside backs from rugby league – Wendell Sailor, Mat Rogers, Lote Tuqiri, Andrew Walker and more recently Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt.
Koroibete is the latest code switcher to be adopted by the Wallabies.
He played for Fiji at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and last October was running out for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL Grand Final.
Cheika has resisted the temptation to throw the 25-yearold in at the deep end, working hard on his positional play over the last 12 months.
And it is starting to reap its rewards.
After his two-try display against the Springboks in Bloemfontein, team-mate Beale said of the speedster: “I’ve always watched him playing league for the Storm and to get the opportunity to play with him, you can see why he’s such a dominant player — so strong with the ball in hand and defensively very, very strong.”
The verdict
Six games unbeaten, 12 against Wales and with the scalp of the All Blacks freshly taken, Cheika’s men have pitched up in Wales in fine fettle.
Not so far back we were talking about the Australian game being in freefall with their Super Rugby franchises unable to buy a win and the national side in a worrying slump.
But Cheika deserves credit for the way he has galvansied the men in gold, bringing in fresh exciting faces next to seasoned campaigners.
As well as their trademark attacking threat, the Wallabies showed plenty of dog and desire in beating the All Blacks in Brisbane.
They have been prone to unexpected slips in the past – although not often against Wales – and are deserved favourites going into the Principality Stadium clash.
Can Gatland’s new-look Wales upset the odds? The challenge is a formidable one.