Rennie in fine fettle after draw in first test
BLEDISLOE CUP
NEW Australia coach Dave Rennie was proud of his side’s effort in their 16- 16 draw against New Zealand yesterday, but has already identified their key weaknesses.
The Wallabies were brave in the trying conditions in Wellington and came within a whisker of a last- minute victory with Reece Hodge hitting the post with a penalty attempt from 55 metres in the second of nine over- time minutes.
Jordie Barrett had levelled the scores for New Zealand in the 79th minute, but the former Glasgow Warriors head coach still beamed with satisfaction after his first match in charge.
“Look I’m really proud,” Rennie said. “We were under the pump early, but thought we defended well for big chunks of the game.
“We were able to apply pressure through our kick game and scored a couple of good tries at important times.”
But the coach said his side needed to be better at the breakdown in Auckland next Sunday.
“We knew the collision area was going to be important and they won that battle,” he said. “We have got to make sure we defend as well next week, but the collision area is going to be the big thing for us.”
Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper, playing his 100th Test, said there was a lot to like about their performance.
“I’m very proud of our team to fight all the way through,” he said. “It was an enjoyable game, despite the conditions and despite the result, we are off to a good start with some things ... there’s a lot of belief. It was close – a kick off the post – but we’ll go again next week.”
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