Aussies finding their tune

Australia’s squad kept busy during Typhoon Hagibis by singing karaoke and playing 10-pin bowling in the basement of their hotel.

The Wallabies bunkered down at their hotel in Odawara in central Honshu on Saturday, not far from Hakone, where nearly a metre of rain pounded down as Typhoon Hagibis passed over.

Wing Reece Hodge, who is available again after a three-match ban, says the enforced downtime brought the squad closer together as they prepare to face England on Saturday.

“There were a few good renditions of Nickelback, a few duets going down in the karaoke room last night, which was good fun,” Hodge said. “It was good to take our minds off rugby for a few hours. There are a few guys who will try to claim they are [the best singers], but there were a few terrible renditions of songs going around.”

As Australia now turn their focus to Saturday’s match against England, Hodge believes his side’s back three could cause real damage as he returns after his suspension for a high tackle on Fiji’s Peceli Yato.

“You only had to see what Marika [Koroibete] did at the weekend with his opportunity there to know that we’re in a good spot as a back three,” Hodge said, referring to his winger team-mate who conjured a breathtaking try in the 27-8 win against Georgia.

“Now that I’m back in the mix, hopefully we can kind of keep working as a unit and get the result this week.”

Being sidelined was tough for Hodge, but it had given him plenty of time to work on his tackling technique. “I learnt my lesson that it is going to be quite harsh if you stray from that kind of goal, so I’ll definitely be trying to tackle low this weekend for sure,” he said.