Wallabies ready to lift

RETURNING Wallabies stalwart Adam Ashley-Cooper has labelled the present record-seeking All Blacks the best rugby side he’s seen.

But a ‘‘nothing to lose’’ mentality and their Suncorp Stadium love affair has an under-strength Australian outfit boldly backing themselves f o r a massive Bledisloe upset on Saturday night.

Utility back Ashley- Cooper knows the Wallabies always lift in front of a packed Brisbane crowd and believes they’re ready to build on their backs-to-the-wall efforts in Argentina nine days ago. Suncorp Stadium is where New Zealand suffered its most recent defeat — in last year’s Tri-Nations decider — and the Wallabies have won 17 of 20 Tests at their f avourite ground.

But since Austr a l i a ’ s 25- 20 trans- Tasman victory 14 months ago, the All Blacks have swept through the World Cup and continued their roll to s t r i n g together 16 straight wins.

Another success will equal their record of 17 and have them poised to break Lithuania’s mark of 18.

While the Wallabies fell 31-8 to South Africa and battled to overcome the Pumas 25-19 in the past fortnight, Richie McCaw’s team smashed Argentina 54-15 before sweeping aside the Springboks 32-16 on the road.

‘‘These guys are the best in the world — you can’t argue with that — and I’d argue that these guys are the best All Blacks side I’ve ever come across,’’ AshleyCooper said. ‘‘They are absolutely humming at the moment.

‘‘We can’t really let that be a distraction to us; we have to look back at what we did well on the last week of the tour and use that.

‘‘There’s nothing to lose and we can go out and have a good crack.

‘‘It always is an awesome game here. I love playing at this stadium and I’d probably be speaking on behalf of the other boys as well.’’

Australia’s most experienced back, Ashley-Cooper (72 caps) has overcome the sickening head knock he suffered in Pretoria. He is set to be named as outside centre or wing when the Wallabies team is announced today.

In his absence, Ben Tapuai produced a strong run- on debut against the Pumas, while fellow backline rookies Nick Cummins and Mike Harris also shone to leave coach Robbie Deans with a welcome selection dilemma.

‘‘ It’s a real positive for us, knowing that guys who haven’t played can step into that environment and play well and get a result when our backs are to the wall,’’ Ashley-Cooper said.

‘‘That’s a great foundation for the team.’’