Kiss' challenge to Wallabies following Eden Park slaughter
REACTION: Wallabies coach Les Kiss delivered a strong message to his side following a demoralising 19-50 defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday.
*Also read: All Blacks blow Wallabies away to retain Bledisloe Cup
Kiss told his Australian side to “return fire” in the second Test against New Zealand after Saturday’s heavy defeat ended his unbeaten start as coach.
Following five matches without a loss since taking charge of the Wallabies in July, Kiss and his team copped a reality check at Eden Park in Auckland.
“Once they got their momentum, it was hard to wrestle it back,” Kiss said after New Zealand scored five second-half tries.
“The lessons are there. If you can’t get your strengths going and their strengths grow, it makes it a difficult game.”
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#REACTION: ‘We failed in Africa’: All Blacks coach touches on Bok lessons after Eden Park win 👇#NZLvAUS #AllBlacks @wallabies #BledisloeCup https://t.co/7mRkibAIgs
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Next weekend’s second Test in Sydney takes on extra significance because the teams will clash there in the World Cup.
“We’ll try and turn the dial in the right areas so we can go to Sydney and return fire,” said Kiss.
Despite the emphatic loss, Kiss said his first defeat since succeeding Joe Schmidt shouldn’t halt the momentum he felt was building.
He said they didn’t get carried away after upsetting South Africa 42-38 two weeks ago and likewise their confidence levels wouldn’t be dented by a heavy loss.
A key to victory over the world-champion Springboks was Australia’s ability to claim high kicks, but Kiss admitted they were eclipsed by New Zealand in that area.
“You’ve got to take a hat off to them, they won aerial battles, and they profited off those things very well,” he said.
“Their kicks were a lot more accurate than our kicks, that’s for sure, so it was just hard to get a footing in that second half.
“The boys always said we’ve got work to do, and it doesn’t change now.
“We’ll have a good look at that game like we always have and then get into the nuts and bolts of what we feel we need to get right.”
Catch up on the full match replay of the Wallabies vs Springboks Test from Perth!
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