Wallabies need to get over 'anxiety' before England Test
NOVEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Australia will need to get over their ‘anxiety’ on attack when they face England at Twickenham says veteran back Adam Ashley-Cooper
The Wallabies picked up their first win of their November tour when they beat Italy 26-7 in Padova on Saturday.
Michael Cheika’s side outscored their opponents by four tries to one, but they also spurned a number of opportunities during the 80 minutes.
Ashley-Cooper knows that they need to be more accurate in that department against England.
“I think it is just about remaining calm and composed,” said Ashley-Cooper.
“I feel that there is just a little bit of anxiety that is maybe hurting our attack.
“The guys are really keen and really eager, it’s just a matter of remaining calm and just starting well – just working on those skill sets that the guys know that they need to address and making sure that we put in a really good performance particularly in that first 20 minutes.
“For me Test football is all in the first 20 – getting into the game, finding your rhythm, gaining momentum and then obviously playing through that.”
Ashley-Cooper believes his team have learned some good lessons in the win over Italy and also in their 6-9 defeat to Wales a week earlier.
“I thought the Italians were great, they were hungry and desperate, and they defended well,” he said.
“Our mindset next week should be to improve and build on the momentum and improving the skill sets.
“Taking the good stuff that we did out of Italy and Wales and improve on that.”
