Wallabies worry about wobbly line-outs
Fixing a barely functioning line-out looks the key to the Wallabies backing up their hard-fought win against South Africa with another victory this Saturday.
Heading to Sydney, the hosts will need to prove individual brilliance didn’t paper over the cracks in their 25-17 win against the Springboks, with a set-piece lift needed after winning just seven of their 13 line-outs in the Adelaide Test.
Discipline could also be a factor in Saturday’s rematch, the Wallabies conceding 16 penalties compared to the Springboks’ nine as they had to dig deep at times to hold their opponents out.
Flank Jed Holloway said a game review had highlighted plenty of plays from Adelaide that could be exploited if they don’t tidy up.
“We’re hugely disappointed in the way our line-out functioned, but we’ve been working hard on that,” Holloway told reporters on Tuesday.
“We reviewed quite hard and we will be better for that.”
Set pieces are not the home team’s only concern.
“Our work ethic, working harder off the ball – there are opportunities we didn’t capitalise on out there.
“Our preparation has been around building consistency because it’s something we haven’t done yet, put together back-to-back performances.
“It’s purely being better and being ready for them to also be better as well.”
They’ll also need to address their woeful record of inconsistency, with just one multiple-game win streak since coach Dave Rennie took over in 2019.
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That will certainly be vital if they’re to pinch the Championship title for the first time since 2015, with Rennie’s men level on nine points with Argentina halfway through the tournament.
But they’ve got every reason to start dreaming of making some history, with Holloway pointing to emerging squad depth as driving the side to high standards.
A star-studded bench at the weekend featured guns including impact props Taniela Tupou and Scott Sio, hulking lock Darcy Swain and flyer Andrew Kellaway, Holloway praising their collective attitude as influential.
“Everyone in this squad wants to represent their country and wear that gold jersey on the weekend,” he said.
“The competition within the squad is really driving us to be better.
“The best thing about it [is] guys are disappointed when the team is announced, but they all park that, it’s all about focusing on making that 23 better on game day.
“There aren’t egos here, once that decision is made everyone’s focusing on getting better.
“Definitely the competition and the return of guys is really driving that amongst our group.”
